Neil Druckmann Says “I Don’t Care” When Asked About The Last Of Us 2’s Story Criticism

Sitting down in an interview with GQ, Neil Druckmann—the famed The Last of Us creator—has expressed his concern over fan feedback of The Last of Us Part 2’s story. He explicitly stated, “I don’t care” when questioned about the audience reacting the same way as the gamers did with the story events of the franchise’s latest game. What he does care about, however, is making the “best TV version of the story.” 

Do you think a TV audience will react in a similar way to where the story goes? Justifiably or not, a minor portion of the gaming community reacted incredibly negatively to the direction of Part 2,” asked a GQ representative. 

The massive community of The Last of Us had high hopes for the story arc of Joel and Ellie, given the way the first game concluded. However, the people up high developing the plotline of the video game series decided to opt for an exceptionally different route by switching up the narrative of The Last of Us Part 2. Joel gets taken off-screen early on in the game and thus begins Ellie’s quest for vengeance, among other things.

People didn’t take that too well at first, making the Metacritic user score of the title hit an all-time low at the time of its release. It’s certainly improved at the moment, now that the game has reached a broader audience, but the point still stands. A minor portion of the gaming community just didn’t see eye to eye with the story structure of The Last of Us Part 2, yet Neil Druckmann isn’t worried about it all the same. 

Huh, that’s quite the difference there. from thelastofus

I guess, to go back to the earlier [Todd Phillips] quote from Craig, which is like… I don’t care. How they react is how they react, that is completely outside of our control. So how do we make the best TV show version of that story? That’s the problem that we wrestle with every day.”

Craig Mazin, The Last of Us co-creator, answered next and emphasized the sentimental appeal of the show and how an escalation of emotions is better than no emotional response at all. “To the extent that the storylines move people to rage, confusion, or disappointment or anger. Well that, I suppose, is preferable to the worst possible outcome, which is indifference.” 

On a side note, The Last of Us season 2 will feature a lot more infected as compared to the first season. “I think we have some really interesting things coming that will be very satisfying without burying you,” said Craig, adding to his answer when asked about an increase in the infected in the second season. Up until now, the show itself has been received incredibly well, boasting solid ratings on both IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes. 

Apart from that, even Phil Spencer is out there praising the HBO adaptation of the popular survival horror shooter. Although, it’s pretty interesting to note that The Last of Us nearly had DLC based on Ellie’s mom. Druckmann revealed this bit in an interview with Variety, where he said how the studio almost made the scenario DLC for the game, but it “fell apart.” 

Do let us know in the comments section ahead whether you think Druckmann is in the right negating the naysayers and focusing on the television show.