Adapting a story as beloved as The Last of Us is a daunting task. The video game has a massive following and fans have had a decade to think about each character and what they are like. For the actors stepping into those roles in HBO's adaptation, that can mean a lot of extra pressure. Luckily, a lot of them have experience stepping into legacy franchises.
Although many people think of Joel and Ellie when they think of The Last of Us, the story's supporting cast also have a huge role to play and have powerful legacies already established by the events of the first two games and the fantastic performances that were delivered in those experiences. Tommy in particular is a fan-favorite character and Gabriel Luna seemed much more excited than nervous at the chance to bring him to life in a live action adaptation.
Game Rant recently had a chance to sit down with the cast of The Last of Us and talk about the experience of bringing the adaptation to life. During the chat, we spoke with Luna about the pressure that comes along with a popular legacy franchise and an existing fanbase...
Game Rant: Having worked with a couple with a couple of major franchises now, Agents of SHIELD and Terminator in particular, I imagine this might be something you're used to, but did you feel any extra pressure coming into this project, knowing how important the source material is to a generation of gamers?
Gabriel Luna: "Right, I think you hit it on the head. I was equipped with the experience having had participated in those legacy franchises... Things that have had decades of impact on our lives and left such a great imprint. It was not lost on me how beloved this is and how much of a responsibility it is. So I tried to have solace in the fact that we were creating it as fans and that I, myself, am a fan. Same thing with Ghost Rider and same thing with Terminator. I know I don't want to mess this up, even for myself. Because I value those stories and that source material because I'm a big nerd myself. I just wanted make sure that it was accurate and that it was true. So for the most part I had been prepared by those similar experiences, but there was the slightly added pressure of him (Tommy) existing already. Already being in the zeitgeist for ten years. But once we got there and started the work and I felt comfortable in my skin... felt Tommy in my bones and that his bones and my bones were in sync, once I got to that point and saw the level of level and work from every department I knew we were in good hands. I knew Craig would be there to catch us when fall and that we had very real, tangible elements to lean on. It really quickly dissipated any concerns I may have had."
It was clear throughout the conversation that Gabriel Luna was incredibly passionate about playing Tommy and that he was a huge fan of the games and of the original performance.
Be sure to check back in the coming weeks for lots of coverage of The Last of Us on HBO.
The Last of Us premiers on HBO Sunday, January 15 at 9:00pm ET/PT and will be available to stream in 4K on HBO Max.