The Last of Us Creator Reveals Episode 2's Breakout Star Was a Last Minute Replacement

By Nathaniel Brail

Earlier this month, HBO released their highly anticipated live-action adaptation of the hit video game The Last of Us and its a certified hit for the network. The Last of Us quickly became the second biggest premiere in the last ten years for the network coming in second to the Game of Thrones spin-off House of the Dragon. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey star as Joel and Ellie, respectively, and fans have been loving how they portray their characters. During episode two, Joel, Ellie, and Tess leave the quarantine zone to bring Ellie to the Fireflies, and along the way we see a lot of cool easter eggs. One of the breakout stars of the episode just so happens to be a frog that accidentally plays the piano. The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann took to Twitter to reveal that the frog almost didn't happen as they originally intended for a bird to eat a frog in that scene as opposed to what we got.

"Piano frog wouldn't be a thing... if piano bird did its job!" Druckmann wrote on Twitter. "I guess everything happens for a reason. #TheLastOfUs. (And before anyone jumps to the wrong conclusion... that's a fake frog for the bird to eat – which it never did!!!)"

Craig Mazin, the Emmy-winning creator of HBO's Chernobyl, produced The Last of Us alongside Druckmann, the creator behind the hit video game series. In an interview earlier this year, the writer said The Last of Us is the "greatest" video game story ever told. "It's an open-and-shut case: this is the greatest story that has ever been told in video games," Mazin said in an interview with Empire Magazine. "[Joel and Ellie] didn't shoot anything out of their eyeballs. They were just people. And that, in and of itself, is remarkably rare in games. The fact that they kept it so grounded, and really made you feel – I had never experienced anything like it, and I've been playing video games since 1977."

Joining Pascal (Joel) and Ramsey (Ellie) include Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Original game stars Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, having played the part of Ellie and Joel in both video games, are also set to appear.

The first two episodes of The Last of Us are now streaming on HBO Max. The show's first season is set to last nine episodes in total with new episodes rolling out on a weekly basis.

What did you think about the scene? Have you been enjoying The Last of Us so far? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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