‘It’s real’: The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin on elements of truth behind show’s fungal pandemic threat
New HBO drama is set in a post-apocalyptic world after the spread of a brain-infecting fungus
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.The showrunner of The Last of Us has clarified whether the fungal pandemic referenced in the show is based on real science.
Craig Mazin is the creator of the HBO adaptation of the hit video game, which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as strangers navigating the US, 20 years after the fall of modern civilisation.
In the programme, much of humanity has been destroyed after a pandemic, sparked by the spreading of the brain-infecting Cordyceps fungus.
The first episode shows an epidemiologist speaking years prior to the pandemic about the potential for widespread disaster if a warmer climate led the fungus to have an effect on humans.
“Candida, ergot, Cordyceps, Aspergillosis – any one of them could be capable of burrowing into our brains and taking control of not millions of us, but billions,” the scientist, played by John Hannah, warns.
“Billions of puppets with poison minds… and there are no treatments for this, no preventatives.”
Mazin has discussed whether the threat posed in the programme is realistic – and he confirmed that there are elements of truth in the eerie, post-apocalyptic setup.
“It’s real – it’s real to the extent that everything he says that fungus do, they do,” Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter. “And they currently do it and have been doing it forever. There are some remarkable documentaries that you can watch that are quite terrifying.
“Now his warning – what if they evolve and get into us? – from a purely scientific point of view, would they do exactly to us what they do to ants? I don’t think so. I doubt it.”
Mazin continued by pointing out the scientist’s accurate observation that hallucinogenic drugs are derived from fungi, stating that the show uses truth without it necessarily being a prediction.
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
Watch Apple TV+ free for 7 days
New subscribers only. £8.99/mo. after free trial. Plan auto-renews until cancelled
“On the other hand, he’s right – LSD and psilocybin do come from fungus. What I told John [Hannah] was, ‘What we’re doing in this scene is telling people this has always been here.’”
The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW. You can read The Independent’s four-star review here.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments