HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us series has the opportunity to introduce one of the franchise’s scariest zombie creations early on by breaking its timeline. The highly anticipated show, based on Naughty Dog’s series of action-adventure games, is set to release in January 2023 following a couple of delays. The story of The Last Of Us follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they attempt to survive and navigate a post-apocalyptic world in which a fungal virus has spread across the globe, turning the infected into frightening cannibalistic creatures.
Based on the release of The Last Of Us trailer, it seems the show will be game-accurate. Being that TLOU games are split into two parts, it’s unclear what elements of Part Two will be appearing in the HBO series. The “Cordyceps Infection” slowly progresses in each host, creating varying levels of in-game enemies such as runners, stalkers, and clickers, a later stage of infection in which the host turns blind and is forced to use echolocation against enemies. However, none of these compare to the culmination of the infected introduced in TLOU Part Two - a terrifying super-organism dubbed “The Rat King.” Abby discovers The Rat King under a WLF-controlled hospital in Seattle, resulting in one of the game’s most intense boss battles. A nightmare fuel amalgamation of infected hosts, superior in strength and ferocity to The Last Of Us clickers, it is suggested that the creature contains some of the first infected that have melded together. To include a game-accurate version of The Rat King in the series would necessitate changes to the show’s timeline, but would create a huge opportunity for a heightened scare factor.
The Last Of Us Could Show The Rat King Without Fully Breaking Its Timeline
Albeit, The Last Of Us certainly has the opportunity to introduce The Rat King without creating major timeline disruptions. Because this creature is the result of over twenty years of infection, there’s an implication that it could realistically exist and be encountered earlier in the story. This could benefit the show in the sense that it would provide a more frightening antagonist early on. On the other hand, The Last of Us isn't a stranger to time jumps, beginning the game with Joel’s origin story. Making use of time jumps in the show provides further opportunity for exploration of how the infection progresses into something like The Rat King over time.
The Last Of Us Wouldn't Have To Use The Game's Rat King
Given cut notes for HBO's The Last of Us adaptation also suggest that there was more than one version of the creature. Rather than forcing the characters to encounter The Rat King in Seattle, the Last of Us writers could easily create a situation in which another variety of the creature exists elsewhere, perhaps even more frightening than the in-game version. This fact is notably reassuring, being that the efficacy and heart of the original story are not threatened.
The creators of The Last Of Us have not made it clear exactly what zombies will be making their way into the series. The trailer teases the existence of clickers and runners without giving too many scares away. However, given the fact that HBO has dedicated ample time to The Last of Us, audiences can expect that the series will deliver fans an engaging and intense take on the beloved story.