HBO's The Last Of Us: 10 Things We Need To See
2. How HBO intend to handle Joel's fate
How on earth are HBO going to play this?
The Last of Us' bloody elephant in the room is the devastating fate of Joel. When the second installment of The Last of Us debuted, fans expecting to step back into the boots of the franchise's gruff badass were left aghast. Instead of taking this beloved character further, Joel is brutally murdered by Abby before Ellie's very eyes, avenging Abby's father's death at his hands in the first game.
Will HBO's take on The Last of Us handle Joel's fate in such abjectly savage fashion? For that matter, will they even kill him? Bella Ramsey is a fine actress but the show would suffer immeasurably from losing charismatic lead Pedro Pascal for what would essentially be the entire second half of proceedings. Even condensing events of the second game into a more manageable timeframe would not take away from the loss of such an integral aspect of The Last of Us' universe.
With that being said, if handled correctly, the potential emotional impact of an on-screen Joel death could prove to be the defining moment of the series itself. However, considering the fact that HBO's take on Naughty Dog's classic seems primed to focus on the events of the first game, it would appear fans have just a little bit more respite before HBO have to make this momentous creative decision.