‘The Last of Us’ Showrunner Took Inspiration From Vince Gilligan in More Ways Than One
HBO’s The Last of Us is taking the streaming world by storm. The series is based on a video game of the same name. It takes place in a post-apocalyptic world when an unlikely pair embark on a journey that could save humanity. The series has already received high praise, and Vince Gilligan inspired its showrunner in more ways than one.
‘The Last of Us’ features intriguing opening scenes
The first two episodes of The Last of Us feature opening scenes that are quite removed from Joel and Ellie, the show’s main characters. The series premiere opens with two epidemiologists appearing on a talk show (à la Dick Cavett) in 1968. One of the scientists gives a chilling warning — that fungi rather than viruses or bacteria could destroy mankind.
The episode 2 opening explores the origin of the cordyceps infection. It takes place in Jakarta, Indonesia, where Ibu Ratna, a Professor of Mycology at the University of Indonesia, examines one of the first people infected. Professor Ratna immediately realizes the severity of the situation and recommends the only thing that might stop the outbreak from spreading — “Bomb.”
‘The Last of Us’ showrunner Craig Mazin was inspired by Vince Gilligan’s ‘disorienting’ cold opens
While appearing on an episode of HBO’s official The Last of Us podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin stated that the start of every episode “is a new opportunity to reorient people or to disorient people.”
“I’m particularly fond of disorientation. I’ve been watching Vince Gilligan do this forever, where you have this 5-6 minutes at the beginning of every episode of television where the audience is as open and receptive as they will ever be. They are willing to be confused, mystified, puzzled as long as you get them ultimately on solid ground.”
Vince Gilligan is a writer, producer, and director. He is most known for his work as creator, head writer, executive producer, and director of AMC’s Breaking Bad and its prequel series Better Call Saul. Both shows use the concept of disorienting the viewer in the episode’s cold opening.
One of the most famous opening scenes from Breaking Bad involves a charred pink teddy bear floating in Walter White’s pool. The episode later reveals the significance of the bear. The stuffed animal was debris from the Wayfarer 515 plane crash, which Walt indirectly caused.
Vince Gilligan uses comedic actors for serious roles
The Last of Us Episode 3 told the story of Bill and Frank, two men who manage to find love in a post-apocalyptic world. Nick Offerman portrays Bill as a survivalist determined to protect Frank. Offerman is known for his comedic roles, and Mazin took another page out of Villigan’s book when casting him.
“Vince Gilligan said once that he loves highering comic actors for non-comic roles because they have an innate humanity that is there underneath the drama, and they understand the absurdity of the world because that is the bedrock of comedy. I think Nick is a great example of what Vince is talking about,” Mazin explained on the podcast.
Bryan Cranston is a prime example of Gilligan employing this tactic. The actor portrayed Hal for years on Malcolm in the Middle before being cast as Walter White in Breaking Bad. Cranston’s role as Walt helped make Breaking Bad one of the most revered shows in history.
New episodes of The Last of Us drop every Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.
