Summary
28 Days Later andThe Last Of Usare heralded as being projects that redefined what the zombie horror genre can be. With a new movie for the former and a new season of its TV adaptation for the latter coming this year, the writer of 28 Days Later has admitted they believe the writing in The Last Of Us is better than it was in his own movie.
In preparation for both 28 Years Later and The Last Of Us season two,Sonyinvited TLOU creator Neil Druckmann and 28 Days writer Alex Garland to speak to one another about the history, and the future, of their respective projects as part of its Creator to Creator series. During it, Garland noted that he believes the writing in The Last Of Us is better than the writing in the first movie in the 28 Days series.
“The Last of Us is better than 28 Days, or at least the writing is,” Garland said to Druckmann (thanks toGamesRadarfor the transcription). “I was like, ‘Oh, this is so much more sophisticated and moving’… The Last of Us is on another level, so yeah, of course I was influenced by it.”
28 Days Later’s Writer Thinks The Last Of Us Bettered His Own Work
28 Years Later Has Been Influenced By The Joel And Ellie’s Journey
28 Days Later released in 2002, more than a decade before the first version of The Last Of Us launched exclusively onPS3. The influence Garland is referencing is the one TLOU has had on 28 Years Later. Interesting to note not only because it will likely be evident Garland was inspired by the games and their adaptation in his upcoming film, but because it will be a full circle moment for both series. Druckmann has previously noted 28 Days Later was a huge influence on The Last Of Us.
While doing press for the launch ofThe Last Of Us Part 2in 2020,Druckmann told Empirethat 28 Days Later was a big influence in the creation of TLOU. TheNaughty Dogdirector pointed to the focus on characters and their stories in 28 Days Later rather than explaining how exactly the virus that brought about the apocalypse came to be. More than two decades later, The Last Of Us and 28 Days Later have still done that better than anything else in the zombie genre.
While Druckmann’s life will still be dominated by The Last Of Us for the next few years since it’s more or less guaranteedthe TV adaptation will be getting at least one more seasonafter this one, a lot of his time will also be dedicated to Naughty Dog’s next game,Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. So much so that when asked about a potential Part 3 in The Last Of Us series,Druckmann advised fans not to bet on it ever being a thing.
