41 Fun Facts About Hard the Last of Us

In 2004, Carnegie Mellon student Neil Druckmann pitched a game idea to which film director?

George A. Romero heard the pitch in Druckmann's Carnegie Mellon class; the idea fused Ico's gameplay with a Night of the Living Dead setting and a Sin City-style hero, and Romero picked another student's concept.

Under what codename did preliminary work on The Last of Us begin after Uncharted 2 shipped in 2009?

Project Thing, also known as T1, was the codename for the work that began after Uncharted 2 in 2009, the first time Naughty Dog split into two teams while the other made Uncharted 3.

Which character was originally The Last of Us's main antagonist, pursuing Joel for a year?

Tess was originally the main antagonist, hunting Joel for a year after he left with Ellie; the team found that motivation unbelievable and rewrote the story so she dies early in Boston.

Druckmann initially modelled Joel on Josh Brolin's performance in which film?

No Country for Old Men was the touchstone: Druckmann wanted a Josh Brolin-style Joel, 'very quiet, very cool under pressure', before Troy Baker's more emotional reading reshaped the character.

Roughly what share of the first game's animations were recorded with motion capture?

About 85% of the first game's animations were recorded through motion capture, with the remaining dialogue captured later in a sound studio.

Why did Gustavo Santaolalla start composing so early in the first game's development?

Druckmann simply described the story and themes rather than giving instructions. Straley and Druckmann had noticed that many tracks on their inspiration playlist were his.

How many copies did The Last of Us sell in its first seven days in June 2013?

The Last of Us sold 1.3 million copies in its first week after its June 14, 2013 release, then reached 3.4 million within three weeks.

As of January 2023, how many games had the franchise sold in total?

The franchise had sold over 37 million games by January 2023; the first game and Remastered reached 17 million by April 2018, and Part II sold four million in its launch weekend.

Roughly how many Game of the Year awards did The Last of Us Part II win?

Part II collected more than 320 Game of the Year awards, a record at the time, despite a Metacritic review-bombing campaign over its story.

In Left Behind, in which city's abandoned mall do Ellie and Riley spend their night together?

Boston is the setting: Ellie and Riley sneak into an abandoned Boston mall three weeks before Ellie meets Joel, while the expansion's other half has Ellie scouring a Colorado mall for medicine.

Where does Ellie find the medical kit she needs for the injured Joel in Left Behind?

The expansion added the ability to distract the Infected into fighting human enemies by throwing objects.

Which actress voiced Riley in Left Behind?

Yaani King voiced and performed Riley, the Firefly recruit who ran away from military boarding school; Storm Reid later played her in the HBO series.

Under what codename was The Last of Us Part I first reported by Jason Schreier in 2021?

It began at Sony's Visual Arts Support Group before moving under Naughty Dog. A PlayStation Store listing leaked the title on June 9, 2022.

Which two directors led The Last of Us Part I, replacing Straley and Druckmann?

Matthew Gallant and Shaun Escayg directed Part I, rebuilding the 2013 game on the Part II engine with new animations and character models; critics questioned its $70 price.

Who co-wrote The Last of Us Part II with Neil Druckmann?

Halley Gross co-wrote Part II with Druckmann after writing for HBO's Westworld; she later joined the HBO adaptation as a writer on its second season.

Which real event did Druckmann cite as sparking the revenge themes of Part II?

Footage of the 2000 Ramallah lynching, with crowds cheering, gave Druckmann violent thoughts that left him feeling 'gross and guilty'; he wanted players to feel that thirst for revenge before confronting it.

Which cut sequence from Part II had gameplay, art and performance fully completed before being removed?

An earlier draft also had five days in Seattle rather than three, including a side story on the Seraphite island meant to humanise the cult.

Which release date did Naughty Dog announce for Part II in September 2019, before the first delay?

February 21, 2020 was the date given at the September 2019 State of Play; Naughty Dog moved it to May 29 for polish, then the pandemic pushed release to June 19, 2020.

Ellie's moth tattoo in Part II was designed by which outside artist after the team struggled to agree?

Hall drew it on a developer's arm so the team could see it. Adding the moth to Ellie's guitar created the link between the two.

Where are the Fireflies regrouping, as Abby and Lev learn on reaching Santa Barbara?

Catalina Island is where the Fireflies on the radio say they are regrouping; Abby and Lev are then captured by the slave-keeping Rattlers before Ellie arrives for the final fight.

Which two studios helped Naughty Dog build the 2025 Windows version of The Last of Us Part II Remastered?

Nixxes Software and Iron Galaxy co-developed the April 2025 Windows port; the PS5 remaster had arrived in January 2024 as a $10 upgrade with modes such as Guitar Free Play.

Ellie's character was inspired by a mute character proposed for which earlier Naughty Dog game?

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves was the game for which Druckmann had proposed a mute girl companion; the rejected idea evolved into Ellie, whom Ashley Johnson pushed to make more independent.

Where in Texas is Joel from, according to his backstory?

Joel was a single father living near Austin, Texas, when the outbreak struck in 2013; the game's prologue, in which Sarah dies, is set there.

Which 1994 Sega Genesis game did Bruce Straley work on at the small studio Pacific Softscape?

Generations Lost, a 1994 Sega Genesis platformer from Pacific Softscape, was Straley's early credit; he joined Naughty Dog in 1999 on Crash Team Racing and later directed Uncharted 2 and The Last of Us.

How much did the HBO series' first season generate for Alberta's economy?

CA$182 million is the province's estimate of the first season's contribution to Alberta's economy, alongside 1,490 jobs, from what was then the largest TV production filmed in the province.

Which two directors were attached to the HBO pilot before Craig Mazin ended up directing it himself?

Renck left over pandemic scheduling and Balagov over creative differences. HBO also merged the first two scripts into one long premiere.

The HBO premiere opens with a 1968 talk-show scene in which epidemiologists debate what?

The premiere drew 4.7 million viewers on day one and nearly 40 million within two months, and won Emmys for sound mixing and editing.

Where was the town of Lincoln for the episode 'Long, Long Time' built and filmed?

The former Beachwood area of High River, Alberta, a neighbourhood emptied after the 2013 flood, was where production designer John Paino's team built Bill's town of Lincoln over several weeks.

Which two guest actors won Creative Arts Emmys for the HBO series' first season?

Nick Offerman and Storm Reid won the guest actor and guest actress drama Emmys at the 2023 Creative Arts ceremony, two of the season's eight Creative Arts wins from 24 nominations.

Which actress plays Kathleen, the Kansas City resistance leader created for the HBO series?

Melanie Lynskey plays Kathleen Coghlan, the soft-spoken but ruthless Kansas City leader invented for the show; Jeffrey Pierce, Tommy's voice in the games, plays her second-in-command Perry.

Which actor plays Isaac, the WLF leader, in the second season of the HBO series?

Wright had voiced Isaac in the game as well. Season two averaged almost 37 million viewers within two months of its April 2025 premiere.

Where was the second season of the HBO series primarily filmed?

British Columbia hosted the second season's shoot, which ran through 2024 around Vancouver, after the first season was filmed in Alberta.

When did HBO renew The Last of Us for its second season?

Less than two weeks after the January 15, 2023 premiere, HBO renewed the series on January 27, 2023; season three was ordered on April 9, 2025, before season two premiered.

Which sequence did Naughty Dog keep secret before release, along with the heroine's immunity?

Playing as Ellie during the Winter chapter was kept secret before launch, along with her immunity and the prologue in which players control Joel's daughter Sarah.

The HBO series' first-season budget of over CA$100 million topped the first five seasons of which show?

Game of Thrones' first five seasons each cost less than The Last of Us' first season, whose budget passed CA$100 million, more than $10 million an episode.

Who served as casting director for the first season of HBO's The Last of Us, working via Zoom?

Victoria Thomas cast the first season, auditioning actors over Zoom during the pandemic; Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey were announced on February 10, 2021.

In the HBO series, which physical frailties were added to Joel that he lacks in the game?

Hearing loss in one ear and aching knees were added to make Joel more physically vulnerable than his game counterpart, a deliberate choice by Mazin and Druckmann for Pedro Pascal's version.

Who composed the HBO score alongside Gustavo Santaolalla, handling the action-driven music?

David Fleming composed the action-driven cues, while Santaolalla wrote the character-driven material and the opening theme, treating the show as an expansion of the games.

Which actors play Abby's friends Owen, Nora, Mel and Manny in the second season?

Spencer Lord, Tati Gabrielle, Ariela Barer and Danny Ramirez play Owen, Nora, Mel and Manny, the former Fireflies who travel with Abby to Jackson in the season two premiere.

Who illustrated The Last of Us: American Dreams, the 2013 Dark Horse prequel comic Druckmann wrote?

Faith Erin Hicks illustrated and co-wrote American Dreams, the four-issue 2013 Dark Horse miniseries following a younger Ellie and Riley before the events of the game.

The Last of Us: Escape the Dark, the 2022-announced tabletop game, was made by Naughty Dog with which publisher?

Themeborne, the studio behind Escape the Dark Castle, made The Last of Us: Escape the Dark with Naughty Dog; up to five players explore locations from the game while trying to reach safety.