If you watch closely, you can see some secret clues hidden in the opening credits for The Last of Us.
The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series based on the 2013 video game developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set in 2023, twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which forces its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The series follows Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting the teenage Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States.
An adaptation of a hugely successful video game, the show’s set-up was already familiar with many. But for those who’d never played the game, the show’s opening credits gave them a few clues.
Various types of fungi slink rapidly across the screen, spreading outwards and upwards, a microcosm of the natural world consuming everything it comes across – beautiful, yet devastating. Look carefully, and you might spot the fungi morph into a map of the US, a city skyline, a screaming face or two human figures – signs of hope in the darkness.
The sequence uses the same music as in the game – written and performed by Gustavo Santaolalla – and the original logo remains, too. But while the show’s creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann wanted it to pay homage to the game, they knew they had to draw in a completely new audience.
