The first episode of The Last of Us ends on the notes of “Never Let Me Down Again”, a famous song by Depeche Mode .
Why exactly that song? Interviewed by the Hollywood Reporter , showrunner Craig Mazin revealed the reasons behind this decision:
My wife has an encyclopedic knowledge of 80’s music, I said “Okay, Melissa, I need this. It must be a song they know but haven’t heard in a long time. One that hasn’t been used to exhaustion.” I needed it to have context, meaning. I needed her to intuit something but at the same time not reveal everything. She had to start in a particular way, so that she could show the radio turning on. She immediately said “Never Let Me Down Again”, I just replied “Oh, my God”.
The plot of The Last of Us
The Last of Us takes place twenty years after the fall of modern civilization, when a fungal parasite infects humans and turns them into monsters. Joel , a man hardened by the will to survive, is hired to escort 14-year-old Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone. It should be an easy job, but it soon becomes a dangerous and brutal journey: together, Joel and Ellie will have to cross what is left of the United States and rely on each other to escape death.
The cast
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey lend their faces to Joel and Ellie . Gabriel Luna is instead Tommy , brother of Joel . Merle Dandridge plays Marlene , as he has already done in the video game. Nico Parker plays Sarah , Joel ‘s daughter. Also starring Jeffrey Pierce ( Perry ), Murray Bartlett ( Frank ), Con O’Neil ( Bill ) and Anna Torv ( Tess ).
The authors of the series
The series is created by Craig Mazin , creator of Chernobyl and screenwriter of various Hollywood comedies ( Superhero Movie, I am you, Scary Movie 3 and 4 , the sequels of The Hangover ). Mazin wrote and produced The Last of Us with Neil Druckman , who wrote the video game. The pilot episode is directed by Kantemir Balagov , a native director of the Autonomous Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria, winner of the FIPRESCI award in Cannes for his debut film, Closeness .
Directing
Among the directors we also find Jasmila Žbanić ( Esma’s secret, The Path ) and Ali Abbasi ( Shelley, Border ).