MOVIE NEWS – “That was one of those stories that was near and dear to my heart and I’m so glad that it gets to live,” said Neil Druckmann.

Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann revealed how the idea to include Ellie’s mother in HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us came about.

As we get closer and closer to HBO’s The Last of Us, more and more details are coming to light about how the adaptation will stick to and differ from the source material. One of the most exciting ways they’re doing this is by showing us Ellie’s mother (played by the same Ashley Johnson who voices Ellie in the games!) Her character is only ever referred to in the play in notes and by other characters. In a recent interview, Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog explained how they decided to cast Anna.

In an interview with Rotten Tomatoes, Druckmann talked about how the story could be approached differently between the TV series and the game, noting that in the series, they could keep Joel and Ellie’s perspective while allowing for more development of the other characters and strengthening their interaction with the leading duo.

Druckmann then reveals that concepts written after the release of The Last of Us have been incorporated into the HBO version. Adding that Ellie’s mother is one of them.

Druckmann says: “And then there are other stories that were written since the game has come out for different projects that, for one reason or another, didn’t happen that when Craig and I started talking about the story and breaking it down, I mentioned some of those to him and he was wide-eyed like a fan and said ‘oh my god we got to put these on the screen, we’ve got to get them on the show’.”

Druckmann continued, revealing that the role of Anna was one of the specific ideas that came to fruition. “You got to see in the trailer we just put out that Ashley Johnson plays Ellie’s mom, and that was one of those stories that was near and dear to my heart and I’m so glad that it gets to live.”

Source: YouTube