Steven Spielberg Is Apparently a Fan of The Last of Us

Steven Spielberg apparently had some praise for The Last of Us. The Last of Us has been a total juggernaut this year. The show debuted on HBO to huge acclaim with many calling it one of the best video game adaptations out there. This resulted in HBO greenlighting a second season almost immediately and development on said second season ramping up pretty quickly. Things are on pause amidst the Writers' Strike, but as of right now, season 2 is expected to arrive in 2025. Of course, none of this would've been possible without the tremendous Naughty Dog video game series that began in 2013. It has been praised up and down for years and now, by virtue of the TV show, it seems like the story is getting recognized by a Hollywood legend.

In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, The Last of Us episode 3 director Peter Hoar shared an anecdote about the show being praised by Steven Spielberg. The acclaimed director apparently sent a letter to showrunner Crag Mazin who then promptly shared it with some of the cast and crew. Hoar refrained from talking about what Spielberg had said, but noted how much he cherished that experience.

"Well, I didn't get it directly, but [an actual Spielberg letter] came to Craig Mazin, the writer of my episode on The Last of Us — the writer of all the episodes," said Peter Hoar. "He shared it with myself, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett and [cinematographer] Eben Bolter. Basically, a whole group of middle-aged men started squealing because their idol had realized who they were. I think he probably knew who everyone else was, but he didn't know who I was. And now he's probably forgotten."

As of right now, it remains to be seen what will come of the next season of The Last of Us. It will adapt the very divisive second game which really ruffled the feathers of some fans. It's likely the show will do the same since it has been faithful to the games thus far.