'The Last Of Us' Creator Reveals How Much Game Violence Will Be Included In The HBO Series

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey hug it out at the premiere of their new series, The Last of Us, held at the Regency Village Theatre on Monday (January 9) in Los Angeles.

The two actors were joined by co-stars Lamar Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, Storm Reid, Nico Parker, Merle Dandridge, Gabriel Luna, Nick Offerman, and Con O’Neill on the red carpet.

Based on the video game, The Last of Us centers on Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across a post-outbreak America.

In a new interview, game creator Neil Druckmann opened up about how much of the video game would be implemented in the show.

“We need a certain amount of action, or violence, that we could use for mechanics so you could connect with Joel and get into a flow state,” he shared with SFX magazine, via Collider. “Then you would really feel like you’re connected with this on-screen avatar and you’re seeing the world through his eyes.”

But will all the violence in the video game be on the small screen? Neil says that it’ll be cut back by a lot.

“One of the things that I loved hearing from [co-creator Craig Mazin] and HBO very early on was, ‘Let’s take out all the violence except for the very essential.’ That allowed the violence to have even more impact than in the game, because when you hold on showing the threat and you’re seeing people’s reaction to a threat, that makes it scarier,” he added. “When we do reveal the infected and the Clickers, you get to see what brought down humanity and why everyone is so scared.”

The Last of Us premieres on Friday, January 13.

If you missed it, find out just how much it took to make the first season of The Last Of Us…

Click inside to see 40+ pictures from The Last of Us premiere…