HBO’s series adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us franchise majorly alters the story of a survivalist named Bill compared to the video games.
HBO’s The Last of Us drastically alters Bill’s fate compared to the eponymous video game franchise.
In Season 1, Episode 3, “Long Long Time,” viewers first meet Bill and Frank after only allusions to the two characters. The video game series only scratches the surface of Bill’s life, but the HBO show massively expands the hardcore survivalist’s backstory, specifically his romantic relationship with Frank. In the present, Frank now suffers from a form of muscular dystrophy and tells Bill to crush the rest of his medicine into a glass of wine. Frank and Bill share one last day together, but at its close, Bill reveals that he poisoned the whole bottle, thereby killing himself as well, as he won’t have anything to live for without Frank. Before dying, Bill writes Joel a note to utilize his remaining supplies and not go upstairs to where their bodies are while also encouraging him to look out for those he can.
Who Plays Bill and Frank on The Last of Us
In HBO’s The Last of Us, Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman portrays Bill, and The White Lotus actor Murray Bartlett plays Frank. On Twitter, Offerman posted three official photos of himself as Bill ahead of Episode 3’s premiere date, with one shot featuring Bill conversing with Joel. In 2013’s The Last of Us, players never actually see Frank alive, but Joel and Ellie discover his body after Frank took his own life following his infection.
In addition to Bartlett and Offerman, The Last of Us stars The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal as Joel and Games of Thrones actor Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Before Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann cast Ramsey in the project, he reportedly saw “dozens and dozens” of actors for the part, including Ramsey’s GoT co-star Maisie Williams and Booksmart‘s Kaitlyn Dever. As for prospective stars for Joel, Supernatural‘s Jensen Ackles rallied to portray the protagonist.
HBO’s The Last of Us’ Success
On Jan. 27, The Last of Us scored an early renewal from HBO for a second season. The post-apocalyptic series became the network’s second-largest premiere, behind only House of the Dragon, with Episode 1 reaching over 22 million domestic viewers. “I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey,” said Druckmann of the renewal.”Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two!”
While Druckmann expressed excitement over a second season, a former Naughty Dog director called for video game industry unionization after his omission from HBO’s The Last of Us credits. “It’s an argument for unionization that someone who was part of the co-creation of that world and those characters isn’t getting a credit or a nickel for the work they put into it,” said Bruce Straley, The Last of Us director. Straley left the studio shortly after the release of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End and described his relationship with Naughty Dog as “strained.”
Season 1 of The Last of Us is currently airing on HBO, with new episodes every Sunday.
Source: HBO
#Drastically #Bills #Fate
