The article may contain spoilers for The Last of Us
It was indeed a scary moment when a Bloater made its appearance in The Last of Us. Deviating slightly from the game, the HBO show made the people turn their heads at the monstrosity that they had created in this post-apocalyptic world.
While trying to replicate the terrifying Bloaters that the people engaged within The Last of Us game, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann made a significant change in the series. As much as the people liked to fight the Bloaters in the game, they were killable. In the HBO show, however, the Bloaters are…invulnerable.
The Last of Us Creators Made Bloaters Immortal!
With bosses, the infected, and Bloaters, The Last of Us game was riddled with enemies against the backdrop of an epic story. While trying to be as similar to the original story that the game has, the HBO show has been critically acclaimed as one of the best adaptations so far.
Improving upon everything that the 2013 game lacked (compared to today’s standards), the creators of the show Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann continue to bring minor changes to the lore. With a change in the abilities of the infected, the duo seemingly made the Bloaters immortal for the HBO Max show.
On the official podcast of the show, Craig Mazin stated that the Bloaters in the show were unkillable at all costs. Contrary to the game (in which Bloaters were killable), this made the journey of Pedro Pascal‘s Joel and Bella Ramsey‘s Ellie…all the more difficult.
“We also thought, look, whatever this thing is and however it got that way, there was this notion that it might be scarier that at some point you realize, you’re not killing it,”
The original writer of the story Neil Druckmann further emphasized the difference between a normal infected and a big bad Bloater.
“There are certain people that are so strong and big that can survive even longer, and those are the bloaters,” he said. “That’s why you’re seeing this person is so tall and massive in their strength. And it just becomes that much scarier, again as we go forward, there’s just these new types of infected.”
With such a clear difference that separated the series from regular Zombie shows, the crew revealed a hilarious rule that they had to follow on set.
The Last of Us Crew Were Banned From Saying “Zombie”
Being different from normal Zombie shows and movies, The Last of Us was made to be built differently. Stating that this wasn’t a normal world or a normal story, the cinematographer of the show, Eben Bolter, revealed a humorous rule that they had to follow while on set.
“We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set,” Bolter said. “It was like a banned word. They were the Infected. We weren’t a zombie show. Of course, there’s tension building and jump scares, but the show’s really about our characters; The Infected are an obstacle they have to deal with.”
With episodes pouring in weekly and getting love from around the world, The Last of Us will release its 6th episode on 19th February 2023. The show is currently available to stream on HBO Max.
Source: The Last of Us Podcast
