‘The Last of Us’ Director on That Major ‘Part II’ Connection, Pedro Pascal’s Tearful Reunion and the Below-Freezing Canada Set
Jordan Moreau SPOILER ALERT: This interview contains spoilers from Episode 6 of “The Last of Us,” now streaming on HBO Max. HBO’s “The Last of Us” series just took a major leap to the video game’s sequel, “The Last of Us: Part II,” that fans are sure to recognize: The snowy Jackson, Wyoming, settlement where “Part II” begins was faithfully recreated in Episode 6 — despite not appearing in the original game. It’s the first major connection to “Part II” that the show has made. Without spoiling the events of the sequel, the wintery Jackson town is a major location in the opening hours of the game. In the original “The Last of Us,” players learn about Jackson from Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and Maria (Rutina Wesley), but they mainly stay at the hydroelectric dam encampment and see Jackson only at a distance. The section of the game also takes place during the fall, not the winter.