We know that HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation will introduce new elements to the story of Joel and Ellie, but so far we only knew changes coming to the human characters. As it turns out, we’ll also be getting some new additions when it comes to the infected.
As confirmed by The New Yorker, The Last of Us series on HBO will be introducing us to a new variant of infected. We don’t have any specifics on this version yet, but it would be ‘unlike those seen in the game.’
It was said that game director Neil Druckmann thought the variant looked ‘too cute,’ but showrunner Craig Mazin promised ‘She has to be terrifying.’
So far, the games have introduced us to six types of infected with the Runners, Stalkers, Clickers, Bloaters, Shamblers, and Seattle’s ‘Rat King.’ Since the Shamblers are just bloaters that evolved near the water, we should expect different kinds of environments to breed different kinds of infected.
My guess is we could have a Clicker that grew in the water, but since Druckmann thinks the design is ‘cute’ maybe it could be an early infection which could still have a discernable human face.
Though video games are always plagued with terrible adaptations, I think a television format could better capture the several arcs that Joel and Ellie go through in the game. While I expect them to be faithful to the source material, I’m glad they’re adding a few things here and there to make the series a newer experience.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO Max on Jan. 16, 2023. You can check out The Last of Us games now available for PlayStation 4|5.
