The comments came during Sony’s new ‘Creator to Creator’ series, which centres around a roundtable discussion behind some of the key figures behind HBO’s The Last of Us. This includes Neil Druckmann (co-creator of the show and game), Craig Mazin (co-creator of the series), Pedro Pascal (Joel), Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Asad Qizilbash (head of PlayStation Productions).
In the first part of the series, Pascal mentioned how impressed he was that the production team “dressed entire areas of the downtown Edmonton and Calgary [areas].” In response, Ramsey smiled and said they “pissed off all the residents,” which elicited a chuckle from the group. “We shut off a highway!” Druckmann pointed out.
That said, Mazin noted that “they were so polite about it,” while Ramsey said “they loved it.” Pascal added that “they were really nice about it.”
This isn’t the first time The Last of Us team has praised Alberta. Speaking to MobileSyrup late last year, Mazin said the crew in the province was “fantastic,” while Pascal commended “the warmth and the dedication” of everyone involved. The series leads also said they loved the province’s landscapes, giving a special shoutout to the “magical little town” of Canmore.
Jeffrey Pierce, who plays Perry on the show and Tommy in the video games, also told us that his time in Calgary was “maybe my favourite experience filming [ever].” Meanwhile, production designer John Paino has said he was “shocked” at how “clean” Alberta was compared to the U.S.
Sony says Part 2 of the Creator to Creator series will drop next week, although it’s suggesting you watch the eighth episode, which premieres March 5th, beforehand.
The second season of The Last of Usmight begin filming later this year.
During an interview with Collider to promote The Mandalorian Season 3, Pedro Pascal, who stars as Joel on The Last of Us, was asked about the sophomore outing for the popular HBO series. While he noted that he couldn’t reveal much, he did tease that production could begin sometime in 2023.
“In the year 2023? Oh, what season are we in now? We’re getting into spring?” he said coyly. “Yes, there is a chance. Yes.”
The Last of Us was renewed last month after only two episodes had aired, with HBO saying the series had its second-biggest premiere ever after House of the Dragon. However, the network didn’t reveal any further details beyond confirming that it would adapt the 2020 PlayStation game The Last of Us Part II. Craig Mazin, co-creator of the series, has also indicated that at least two seasons may be needed to fully adapt the sequel.
For now, though, the first season of The Last of Us still has one more episode before its March 12th finale. It should be noted that we don’t actually know how far along Mazin and co-creator Neil Druckmann (co-director of The Last of Us) actually are in the writing process for Season 2, although Pascal’s comments suggest they might have made some significant progress already.
Another big question: where will The Last of Us Season 2 film? Most notably, Season 1 was filmed entirely in Alberta in what’s believed to be part of Canada’s largest TV production to date. Bella Ramsey, who stars opposite Pascal as Ellie, has also suggested that production could return to Canada, although HBO hasn’t made any official comment on the matter.
It’s worth noting that Canmore — Pascal and Ramsey’s favourite filming location — stands in for Jackson, Wyoming in the series, and the first few hours of The Last of Us Part II are set in the American town. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether HBO will return to the Alberta location — or any others — for Season 2.
The latest episode of The Last of Us, February 26th’s “Left Behind,” primarily consisted of flashbacks to Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) time before meeting Joel (Pedro Pascal).
In particular, the bulk of this episode shows Ellie with her best friend, Riley (Storm Reid), as they have charming adventures through an abandoned shopping mall. Fans of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us PlayStation game will recognize this story from the downloadable expansion, Left Behind. Now, we’ve learned a bit more about how that setting came together in the show.
As Paino notes, the mall had been “completely stripped” and didn’t have a usable second floor. However, those who have watched the episode will know that a two-story setup was key thanks to a charming scene involving an escalator. Therefore, the rooftops were created using CGI.
Meanwhile, Paino’s team built 20-25 stores to turn the dilapidated Canadian mall into an American one. That said, some of the fast-food joints got to play themselves, such as A&W.
Elsewhere, Paino says the merry-go-round featured in a key scene had to be brought into the mall just for the shoot. “It actually used to be in that mall, but when it went out of business, another mall took it, so we made a deal to rent it,” he said.
Finally, there’s the arcade. As Paino points out, the name and font of this spot (“Raja’s Arcade”) were taken straight from the game. This is a fun reference to a hot-headed character named Eddy Raja from another beloved Naughty Dog series, Uncharted.
Beyond that, though, the production team assembled a lineup of real arcade cabinets, including those for Frogger, Tetris and, most prominently, Mortal Kombat. Interestingly, though, Paino says they actually built LED displays for each game because their original cathode-ray tube (CRT) retro screens came out blurry on their modern cameras.
Naturally, seeing the old Calgary mall has brought out some fun reactions from viewers:
After “Left Behind,” only two episodes of The Last of Us remain. However, the series has already been renewed for Season 2, which doesn’t yet have a premiere window.
There’s been a lot of talk of mushrooms on the internet thanks to HBO’s The Last of Us. The TV show’s apocalypse is all thanks to the Cordyceps fungus and its haunting effects. Series star Pedro Pascal has come forward with his thoughts on another fungus — the magic mushroom.
During an interview on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Pascal, who plays Joel Miller in the series, talked about working on set and his experiences with the show’s infected. Partially through the interview, Meyers asks Pascal whether working on The Last of Us has put him off from enjoying mushroom dishes like pasta.
“I love mushrooms. All kinds,” Pascal emphasizes. “The kinds in restaurants. The kinds that used to come in a little ziplock bag in the ’90s. And now the kinds that are in these colourful chocolates,” he continues.
Meyers then continues joking about ingesting some psychedelic mushrooms and watching The Last of Us. “That I would not do,” Pascal quickly interjects. “That might put you off it for good. So don’t do that.”
The Last of Us is heavily inspired by and based on the video game franchise from PlayStation’s Naughty Dog. Six episodes into the series and audiences have already faced very heavy and emotional narrative threads. Each episode sees Pascal’s Joel and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, cross the U.S. in hopes of finding a cure for the Cordecypt virus. Along the way, our two characters stumble upon a cast of characters and horrifying infected.
One infected in particular, dubbed Bloater, has recently built quite the acclaim online. Production and the VFX pulled no punches in replicating the giant enemy from the game and making it a horrifying threat on-screen during the fifth episode of the series. Comprised of grotesque fundal growths, the Bloater became the internet’s number one mushroom. The actor who played infected even went as far as to say “He seems to be a bit of a sex icon.”
Pascal’s comments on the combination of magic mushrooms and the widely successful HBO show are mainly in jest. However, it’s a good to keep in mind as we head toward the final three episodes of the season.
An eagle-eyed viewer of The Last of Us has caught a minor but amusing error in the latest episode of the hit HBO series.
On Twitter, guitarist Scott T. Jones shared an image of a wide shot of the episode’s wintry Wyoming scenery. It looks beautiful, but there’s something wrong with it — a few crew members can be seen in the bottom left. Admittedly, they look so small in the frame that most people would have likely not noticed or simply thought they were part of the trees.
Brilliant episode. Something you might want to fix and reupload though. You can see the film crew in this shot. pic.twitter.com/GZ9Pp6AknL
— Scott T. Jones Guitarist/Composer (@stjguitarist) February 20, 2023
Still, it’s interesting to see accidents like this pop up in such a big HBO production, especially when it isn’t the first time. In episode four of Game of Thrones‘ eighth and final season, a Starbucks coffee cup was infamously visible in front of Daenerys (Emilia Clarke). This isn’t exclusive to HBO, either. In another Pedro Pascal series, Disney’s The Mandalorian, a crew member wearing a t-shirt and jeans was standing behind Greef Karga (Carl Weathers). In both cases, the issues were digitally removed, so it remains to be seen whether HBO will do the same with The Last of Us.
In any case, what’s most notable about the latest episode of The Last of Us, at least for Canadians, is where, exactly, this scene was filmed. Indeed, standing in for Episode 6’s Wyoming setting was none other than the lovely small town of Canmore, Alberta. It’s a location that both Pascal and Bella Ramsey said was their favourite in the province to visit during an interview with MobileSyrup. “Every inch of Canmore was just this magical little town… with really great fudge,” said Pascal.
It’s worth noting that Season 2 of The Last of Uswill adapt The Last of Us Part II, a game that begins in Wyoming. Therefore, it remains to be seen whether HBO will return to Canmore to shoot those scenes and, if so, whether the crew members will stay out of sight next time.
The Last of Us is now streaming exclusively on Crave in Canada.
Upon the arrival of The Last of Us’ sixth episode dubbed Kin, many eager Canadian viewers jump to Crave to start watching. However, throughout the duration of the episode, many were left frustrated. For one reason or another, Crave’s app began signing people out. Thus, many viewers were left frustrated, unable to see the conclusion of the episode.
During the tail end of the last night’s episode of The Last of Us, Crave acknowledged the issues subscribers faced. “Our team is aware that some customers are experiencing technical difficulties with the Crave app, the @CraveHelp account said.
To our Crave subscribers, our team is aware that some customers are experiencing technical difficulties with the Crave app. We understand the urgency of the matter and are working as fast as possible to resolve it.Thank you for your pateince.
HBO’s The Last of Us has become appointment viewing for many fans of the video game series and newcomers alike. Naturally, these tech issues stirred some frustration. “We understand the urgency of the matter and are working as fast as possible to resolve it,” the account went on to say.
To make matters worse, the exact same tweet was published on Sunday, February 5th. The timing of the previous tweet was nearly the same down to the minute. Anecdotally, it doesn’t appear as though there is a consistent platform that is giving audiences trouble. As of the time of writing, it’s hard to say whether the issue predominantly stems from the mobile, smart TV, or console app.
It’s also not clear what issue Crave is facing exactly. Given the popularity of The Last of Us series, it stands to reason that perhaps there is too much demand. Given the case, it will be interesting to see whether or not Crave is able to rebound from this as the series continues over the next three weeks.
The past weekend, the sixth episode of HBO’s The Last of Us premiered. Following the heartbreaking events from last week’s episode, the sixth episode, named Kin, introduces us to a thriving community in Jackson, Wyoming.
The series of The Last of Us remixes the location of Jackson in a few very important ways. As seen in the episode, the community of Jackson closely resembles the western-inspired settlement seen in The Last of Us Part II. However, there is still a notable mention of the hydroelectric dam, which serves as the basis for the original game’s locale.
The Last of Usunderwent production in Alberta, Canada. As such, the community of Jackson was built in Canmore, a small town in the province. For fans of the games, HBO’s rendition of Jackson closely resembles its video game counterpart. So much so, that many scenes feature mirror sceneries. The Last of Us’ production team set out to make Jackson a fresh change of scenery for audiences while also staying true to the game.
“The buildings there have a real rustic feel, and this beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains at the end of its main street,” production designer John Paino told Los Angeles Times in an interview.
In the games, Jackson stands as a reminder of what civilization used to be like prior to the Cordyceps virus that plagued the world. Episode 6 gives us a similar look at the town. Thanks to the nearby dam, Jackson has electricity, running water, etc. Established seven years prior to Joel and Ellie’s arrival, Jackson is bustling with 300 survivors, sharing responsibilities. The town includes an operational theatre, bar, and grand hall, where community members come to eat meals together. “The barbecue place where Joel and Ellie have their first meal, it’s decorated with banners that might have been made by the children of the community,” Paino says.
What did this all mean for Canmore? Well, production had the difficult task of transforming the sleepy town into a thriving community of post-apocalyptic survivors. The production team went on to build stables and makeshift greenhouses on top of empty parking lots. Screen-ready sidewalks and railroad ties were also installed. Paino’s team also built fake exteriors for a number of the existing buildings. Plus, the rather large wooden barricade shown to surround Jackson was smaller in scale. It actually only covered 60 feet on both sides of a major street. This was all done while not disturbing the day-to-day life of residing members of Canmore.
After production concluded, Paino’s team disassembled its TV version of Jackson. Admitting that some of the barricade walls were used for a set in Episode 7, most of it did end up being thrown in a wood chipper.
In a recent interview, lead actor Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel, revealed his thoughts on Canmore. “Every inch of Canmore was just this magical little town… with really great fudge,” Pascal said. Bella Ramsey, who is cast as Ellie, has remarked, “My favourite place that we went to was Canmore, for sure’.”
Paino concludes by wondering if Canmore will become a hotspot for fans of The Last of Us. Perhaps Canmore will see similar foot traffic to Water White’s house from Breaking Bad. “It’s a really beautiful area, and there’s great skiing and hot springs up there, so I’m for it.”
The Last of Us airs on Crave in Canada each Sunday at 9 pm ET/6 pm PT.
But of all the places they visited during their year-long shoot in the province, there was one place, in particular, that stood out: Canmore.
“My favourite place that we went to was Canmore, for sure,” Ramsey noted, to which Pascal excitedly agreed. “Every inch of Canmore was just this magical little town… with really great fudge,” he added. (Sadly, we weren’t able to ask where he got said fudge.)
Now, we’re finally getting to see the small Alberta town in the hit HBO drama series. In the sixth episode, premiering February 19th, Joel (Pascal) and Ellie (Ramsey) head to Jackson, Wyoming to find Joel’s brother, Tommy (Gabriel Luna). As co-creator/co-showrunner Craig Mazin told us, Canmore was a “dead ringer” for Jackson thanks to its beautiful, snowy vistas.
It’s worth noting that The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season, which will adapt The Last of Us Part II. The game’s opening hours are also set in Jackson, so it remains to be seen if HBO will bring the production back to Canmore for these scenes. For now, though, we have Episode 6 (titled “Kin”) to enjoy, as well as the remaining three episodes.
Part of the appeal of The Last of Us has been to see all of Alberta’s stunning geography, and it’s something that the cast and crew have continued to praise. In a recent interview, Jeffrey Pierce, who plays Perry in the series and Tommy in the games, told us that his time shooting in Calgary was likely his “favourite” filming experience to date. John Paino, the series’ production designer, has also said that he was “shocked” at how “clean” Alberta ended up being.
Spoiler warning: the fifth episode of The Last of Us ends in a massive outbreak in Kansas City.
Among these infected is the giant Bloater, an incredibly large and murderous enemy. This Bloater is played by Adam Basil, a 6’6 British stunt performer from films like No Time to Die, Fast 9, Cruella and Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
“The Bloater was a huge undertaking for our department, to create a practical character to interact with the cast and performers and provide as much reference as possible for the the vfx team to take further in post production. – BarrieGower IG #TheLastOfUspic.twitter.com/6h8S0LDVfN
Basil spoke to Entertainment Weekly after the episode, saying he got a lot of attention after starring as the Bloater.
“He seems to be a bit of a sex icon,” Basil told EW. “He’s captured a lot of people’s imaginations. Someone asked me if I’d come to their wedding. I’ve had people sending me love messages. He really brought out something in people that I don’t think even they knew they had. He’s the big daddy mushroom, I think there’s been a [meme].”
The costume was designed by Barrie Gower, who made the prosthetics for Game of Thrones‘ Night King and Stranger Things’ Vecna.
The Last of Us hits Crave every Sunday at 9pm ET/6pm PT.
Part of the appeal of HBO’s The Last of Us series is how it adds to the story of the original PlayStation game upon which it’s based.
In one case, this meant dramatically expanding the love story between Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) in the standout third episode, which was only hinted at in the original game. Elsewhere, this might lead to introducing new characters.
Nowhere has the latter been more apparent than in Episodes 4 and 5 of the show, in which creators and showrunners Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (the original The Last of Us game) introduce not one, but two new figures. Enter Kansas City revolutionary leader Kathleen (Yellowjackets‘ Melanie Lynskey) and her right-hand man Perry (Bosch‘s Jeffrey Pierce).
Jeffrey Pierce as Perry.
But for fans of both 2013’s The Last of Us and its 2020 sequel, Pierce is perhaps most recognizable for another role: Tommy, the younger brother of protagonist Joel. With Gabriel Luna (Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) portraying Tommy in the series, Pierce has been given the chance to play a completely new character. It wasn’t always going to be that way, though.
“They actually had me read for a different part, and they had me read for it three times,” Pierce reveals to MobileSyrup in a roundtable interview. While he coyly declined to reveal what that part might be, he says Mazin and Druckmann soon presented him with the character of Perry.
“Ultimately, they came back and said, ‘Look, we’re never gonna believe you as a victim, which is a very gratifying thing to hear.’ And a week later, they called and said, ‘Hey, we got this guy that we think you’d be perfect for.’ So it was sort of a roundabout way back to the kind of casting that is really in my wheelhouse.”
Indeed, Perry is tough and resolved like Tommy, but with a unique wrinkle that sets him apart thanks to his relationship with Kathleen. Where Tommy leaves Joel (Pedro Pascal) to go off on his own, Perry follows Kathleen, who’s taken over as revolutionary leader from her brother, and serves as both muscle and advisor.
“I enjoyed Tommy for a lot of reasons, but Perry is the sort of iconic Ronin samurai who’s found his purpose, and what more could I ask for?” says Pierce.
Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen.
For Pierce, the HBO series also presented a new way to experience a world he’s acted in for well over 10 years. In the games, he’d record in a studio with no resemblance to The Last of Us‘ post-apocalyptic world, surrounded by fellow actors in offbeat motion-capture outfits.
While he says the challenge of imagining everything through motion capture “takes you back to the roots of why you fell in love with acting,” he was still in awe of the experience of actually filming in real Alberta locations. With an estimated budget of over $100 million USD (about $133.7 million CAD), The Last of Us is believed to be the most expensive TV production in Canadian history, and it shows.
“Walking onto the sets that they built, especially for Episode 5’s climactic exchange — they built that entire neighbourhood. That was a parking lot, and they built it from the ground up,” he says, referring to the big battle between Kathleen’s forces and infected creatures that Joel, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), Henry (Toronto’s Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard) get dragged into.
“And if there’s any CG, it’s just the sky. Everything else is practical. And that was unbelievable. I mean, it’s got to be 15 to 20 houses that they built the skeletons of, and then the actual façades of, and then they’ve got one that’s burned down, and the only thing left was a chimney. And they did every single piece of detail in there. So to get to come to play on something that was given that much love and sweat and blood to build — you felt that you had to honour what they had done with your work. And that made it a really, really special experience.”
Also adding to his time on the show: Calgary.
“With COVID, I was kept pretty contained [in] downtown Calgary, which was still great. I’ve shot all over Canada, and the thing that I enjoy, regardless of where I’ve been, is the people. They’re just such a lovely bunch. And that crew in Calgary was amazing. This is another first experience, and I think there were probably 250, 300 people on the crew. And more than two-thirds of them took that job because they were fans of the game; [it] impacted their lives in such a way that maybe that’s why they got into production, maybe that’s why they got into TV and film. But they took that job specifically because it was The Last of Us.”
For Pierce, this all brought his long-running journey with The Last of Us full circle.
“Walking onto set the first day was like walking into my own living room because everyone knew me as Tommy from the game and were just so warm and welcoming and kind and generous. I think it was maybe my favourite experience filming because of that.”
