The Final of Us’ Neil Druckmann Says They’d Only Fetch into yarn Recasting Bella Ramsey if She Desired to Depart away

Warning: This article contains minor spoilers for HBO’s The Final of Us and The Final of Us Phase II.

The first season of HBO’s The Final of Us has officially ended, which capability it be time to expose the page to Season 2.

The vastly a success HBO series has been renewed for a 2nd season that can adapt the yarn from Playful Dogs’s The Final of Us Phase II. As followers of the game know, The Final of Us Phase II takes inform five years after Phase I, main to some dialogue surrounding if the show would phase programs with Bella Ramsey and recast the characteristic of Ellie for the time skip.

Speaking at a press conference before the season finale, executive producer and Playful Dogs co-president Neil Druckmann build these considerations to leisure, asserting he and showrunner Craig Mazin want to ticket Season 2 with Ramsey at the forefront.

“After we made the game, I felt we had been extremely fortunate,” Druckmann stated. “It was love lightning within the bottle that we stumbled on Ashley Johnson. I’m in a position to now now not keep in mind that version of Ellie being anybody else. And then in a technique we obtained lightning within the bottle again with Bella.

“We’re extremely fortunate to have Bella and the stuff you saw all the intention in which thru this entire season. The handiest reach we would ever, ever have in thoughts recasting Bella is that if she stated, ‘I invent now now not want to work with you guys anymore.’ Even then, I’m now now not particular we would grant her that. We would possibly per chance well easy power her to arrive attend attend to Season 2.”

Mazin shared Druckman’s enthusiasm for Ramsey’s Ellie, and he additionally pointed out that “[Ramsey]’s 19 now, which — by the reach — is the age of Ellie in The Final of Us Phase II.”

The constructing and yarn of Season 2 are a tiny of a thriller fine now. Mazin has previously stated that Phase II is “bigger than a season’s rate of television, for particular,” implying they would possibly per chance well split up the sequel into as a minimal two seasons. Plus, the non-linear timeline of Phase II’s storytelling would possibly per chance well be presented in extra than one programs.

Season 1 additionally automatically altered yarn beats from the game, most notably vastly shaking up Invoice and Frank’s cherish yarn. Mazin is atmosphere identical expectations for Season 2, asserting some moments would possibly per chance well be “radically” different than what avid gamers skilled in The Final of Us Phase II.

“[Season 2] will be different loyal as this season was different,” Mazin stated. “In most cases this will even also be different radically, and normally it [won’t] be moderately different in any appreciate, however it absolutely’s going to be different. This will be its have explain. It are likely to be now not precisely love the game. This will be the show that Neil and I want to ticket, however we are making it with Bella.”

For extra, investigate cross-check our The Final of Us season finale evaluate, which we known as, “a thrillingly devoted adaptation of 1 video games’ perfect endings, despite the undeniable truth that it doesn’t pack moderately the identical punch as the distinctive.”

Logan Plant is a contract creator for IGN preserving online game and entertainment news. He has over six years of skills within the gaming change with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Participant Magazine, and Lifewire. Salvage him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.