- "The Last of Us" co-creator made a change to the show's horrifying fungus so he could show the actors' faces.
- Neil Druckmann told Polygon that HBO changed how the fungus spread from the hit video game it is based on.
A co-creator of HBO's hit series "The Last of Us" made a major change to the show's biggest threat so they didn't have to cover star Pedro Pascal's face with a gas mask all the time.
In the hit video game series the show is based on, the Cordyceps fungus spreads through airborne spores, forcing the player's character to put on a gas mask to navigate through the toxic environment.
But, when the universe hit the small screen, co-creator Neil Druckmann told Polygon that they opted for tendrils of fungus — demonstrated in a horrifying scene in episode two — instead of to spores.
"The show [is] taking a more realistic approach to the story and the world," Druckmann told Polygon. "If we wanted to treat it realistically, and there are spores near, characters would wear gas masks all the time."
He continued: "Then we lose so much, which is maybe the most important part of the journey is what's going on inside behind their eyes, in their soul, in their beings. For that logistical reason, we were like, 'Let's find a different vector.'"
"The Last of Us" has been a hit for HBO Max. It was the streaming service's second-biggest launch of all time, behind only "Game of Thrones" spin-off "House of Dragons."
The gritty zombie apocalypse show would have been the second time Pascal was performing in a mask in a big-budget show. His character on Disney+'s "The Mandalorian" is famously helmeted — and even refuses to take it off in the show.