HBO’s The Last Of Us secretly hints that a new form of infected that wasn’t in Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed games will appear in the show.
An addition to the cast for HBO’s The Last of Us teases a new form of horror that could enter the show. The Last of Us is an upcoming TV series that is based upon the award-winning games The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II. The apocalyptic drama follows its protagonists Joel Miller and Ellie Williams as they journey across an America that has been ravaged by a fungal infection, turning people into zombie-like terrors. Filming has begun for the series and the show will likely air in 2023 – although no date has been confirmed.
The Last of Us has assembled a promising cast that includes Game of Thrones duo Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the two lead roles. Anna Torv, Nick Offerman, and Merle Dandridge will also feature in the show that has been written by Neil Druckmann, the creator of the games, and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl). The first season will consist of ten episodes and will adapt the events of the first game, The Last of Us. Filming and casting are still ongoing for the show and one particularly intriguing addition to the cast is Connor Stanhope as “Infected Man Stage 5.”
The Last of Us‘ casting of “Infected Man Stage 5” hints that the show could include a brand new variation of infected humans that was not seen in either game. In The Last of Us games, there are four primary stages of the infection, each with its own distinguishable appearance and characteristics. Each stage is an evolution of the previous one, which implies that this potential “Stage 5” could be the largest and scariest form of infected to date and will be entirely new for HBO’s The Last of Us.
In the world of The Last of Us, the four main stages of infected are runners, stalkers, clickers, and bloaters. Runners are humans that have recently been infected and therefore most resemble a normal human and their physical capacities. Over time, runners develop into stalkers, which creep in the dark and spring upon unexpecting survivors. Stalkers evolve into clickers, which barely resemble humans due to a large growth of the fungal infection taking over. Clickers can no longer see due to the fungi’s growth and eventually develop into bloaters – the fourth stage. In The Last of Us 2, shamblers are a new variant that is introduced. Shamblers, however, are not a fifth stage of the mushroom infection, they are an alternate stage 4 that is a variant of bloaters. Like bloaters, they have been infected by cordyceps for many years but they typically exist in areas with water and expel large spore clouds from their bodies. The potential “Stage 5” infection would have developed for many years and would therefore be larger than bloaters and shamblers. They could be one of the most intimidating creatures in the world of The Last of Us and make the show even scarier than the games.
The scariest infected in the games is the Rat King that appears in The Last of Us 2. Although is the largest infected seen in the world so far, it is not a new stage of infection. The Rat King is the result of multiple infected morphing together after being in a confined space for many years. It’s highly unlikely that the Rat King will feature in The Last of Us season 1, as in the games it appears when the player is acting as Abbie – a character yet to be cast in the show. Furthermore, it appears that the The Last of Us season 1will only adapt the events of the first game. Rather than the show’s attempt at the Rat King, the new stage of infected will be something completely new to the franchise. It will no doubt enhance the lore and horror of the games and pose a terrifying threat to Joel and Ellie.
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