The Last of Us star Bella Ramsey has said if fans of the game don’t like the television adaptation, they “don’t have to watch it” and can simply “play the game again”.
Based on the hit video game franchise of the same name, the post-apocalyptic drama follows a society that collapsed after a mass fungal infection transformed hosts into zombie-like creatures. In the series, Ramsey plays Ellie, a young woman who is somehow immune to the infection and might be the key to a vaccine.
Season one debuted in 2023 to critical acclaim, with The Independent’s Louis Chilton declaring it a “proper TV show” that has “the potential to reel in a substantial audience of gamers and non-gamers alike”.
Season two saw criticism from fans for multiple reasons; fans felt that Ramsey’s youthful appearance didn’t suit their character’s age due to the time jump, homophobic fans review-bombed episodes featuring a same-sex romance between Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Riley (Storm Reid), and described the finale as “lacklustre” and a “mess”.
In a podcast appearance, Ramsey explained that they prefer to “steer clear as much as I could” from those that dislike the series.
“Because there’s nothing I can do about it anyway. The show is out. There’s nothing that can be changed or altered. So I’m like, there’s not really any point in reading or looking at anything,” Ramsey said on The Awardist podcast.
“People are of course entitled to their opinions. But it doesn’t affect the show, it doesn’t affect how the show continues or anything in any way. They’re very separate things to me. So no, I just don’t really engage.”
A forthcoming third season has been confirmed by HBO, but a release date has yet to be announced.
Ramsey went on to suggest that if people dislike the series, they can simply choose to not watch.
“You don’t have to watch it. If you hate it that much, the game exists. You can just play the game again,” they said. “If you do want to watch it, hope you enjoy it.”
Similar to the game, the forthcoming season is expected to shift to following Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby.
At a press conference in May this year, Ramsey said they hadn’t yet “seen any scripts” but believed their character would have a smaller role.
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“I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that. I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”
Speaking in April about the show’s future, co-creator Craig Mazin, assured fans that he is “not going to go past the game.” Series co-creators Neil Druckmann and Mazin said previously they believe a fourth season will be necessary to complete the story.
“I’ll just say that flat out,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “So if people are thinking, ‘Oh, these guys are planning the old cash grab thing…’”
He added: “I’m basically setting a decade of my rapidly dwindling life on fire to tell this story. The show is so hard to make. It has to have an end. So I’m not going to go past.”
