The Last of Us: Avoiding The Walking Dead's Biggest Mistake!
The Last of Us and The Walking Dead: A Tale of Two Zombie Franchises
The Last of Us and The Walking Dead are zombie titans! Both blew up from successful source material, but now The Last of Us needs to avoid The Walking Dead's biggest mistake! They both started incredibly similarly, both producing wildly successful shows adapted from already successful source material – however their differences demonstrate extremely varied approaches to their adaptations, particularly their treatment and approach to their respective source materials and its sequels!
The Walking Dead went beyond its comics, making a crazy-long TV saga with mostly original stories. The Last of Us, on the other hand, carefully adapts its first game, making only a few tasteful changes. And this creates the perfect opportunity to introduce some serious questions; about whether they could even attempt to copy the success that the Walking Dead enjoyed over so many years; specifically, those differences surrounding each show's storytelling methods, and their creative approaches when it comes to plot.
Why The Last of Us Shouldn’t Stray Too Far From Its Games
The Walking Dead didn't really care about a single group of characters. Its revolving-door cast demonstrated the resiliency of humanity amidst the undead apocalypse, showcasing this very distinct point: those key thematic moments remain even after characters are either removed from the storyline, or replaced. But The Last of Us is entirely different. The emphasis is upon those individual, personal storylines— particularly the incredibly important bond and struggles shown through Ellie, a very distinct focus and is what made The Last of Us so incredibly meaningful; meaning the approach to character creation is entirely unique compared to other media!
Seasons 2 and 3 adapt The Last of Us Part II game; this is a good thing. However, going beyond the existing material could cause serious problems and damage for the audience, as straying from these plots might negatively affect the intended message and storyline that the creators want to provide. While there might be certain unique additions and alterations added in, attempting to fundamentally rewrite and deviate from existing lore is a key concern.
The Last of Us Part III: A Necessary Conclusion?
Even after the ending for The Last of Us Part II, which provides the capability to make a satisfying concluding scene which fits the game perfectly; the writer and game creator Neil Druckmann has confirmed a trilogy! That means plenty of source material for HBO to adapt.
Part II's adaptation allows plenty of time before the third (possibly last) game releases—assuming that Druckmann sticks to that typical release model which is shown between Part I and Part II. After completing the adaptations, whether HBO's The Last of Us follows The Walking Dead's approach by making their own continued content (that's highly divisive) remains yet unknown, presenting some uncertainty concerning future possibilities for future development.
Conclusion: A Potential for Creative Growth, With Inherent Risks
The Last of Us has everything going for it: a devoted fanbase, a rich existing narrative, an experienced creator. Copying The Walking Dead's post-source material storyline could make or break this extremely successful show. The unique storytelling methods in The Walking Dead cannot necessarily apply here. A distinct focus on established characters exists; and diverging could badly affect the fanbase; causing it to fall apart. Yet there's time; a creative possibility: They can complete the story arcs established, thus leaving a legacy; which means additional unique narratives would otherwise be unnecessary and not quite the thing many are currently waiting for. However, whether they create an amazing satisfying end or not – only time will tell. We wait in anticipation!
