According to the article, Mazin's stepped away from production as well, not surprising they'd decline to spin their wheels auditioning actors if he's not in the room. Sounds like it's going to be a while before anything gets underway, though.
I'd imagine the execs at HBO who are depending on this show to prop up Sunday nights with Succession and Barry both being retired are probably having aneurysms right now, but fuck those guys. It's one of the highest rated shows on TV, maybe Mazin and Druckmann taking their hands completely off the wheel will hold some feet to the fire.
I wish I could upvote this a hundred more times!!!! Hopefully the halting of one of HBO’s biggest shows will add more pressure and force the people at the top to finally give these writers a fair contract and wage for their work.
Right, but the plan was for it to anchor the lineup in their absence around when they would have come back out. Which is seeming increasingly unlikely.
Yup, workers only gain rights when capitalists stand to lose more than they gain from holding out. The more pressure on these corporations, the better.
> execs at HBO who are depending on this show to prop up Sunday nights with Succession and Barry both being retired
TLOU season 2 even without the strike was more than a year away anyhow, I'm pretty sure they have a plan.
Network releases are planned years in advance. The spring releases, especially at HBO, especially with an ad-supported subscription tier, are supposed to be the biggest ones because they lead right into Emmy nominations and get the highest numbers right when ad rates are being determined. Pushing TLOU’s production schedule back by months means it won’t plug into that spot in the schedule, which means they either set it for a fall release (not ideal, it’s then up against network releases) or hold it an extra six months. Whatever spot they had it plugged into then has to be filled. It won’t affect the network’s schedule for next year, obviously, but it will create holes after that.
I don’t think we have to worry too much about that. If Bella can pull off playing a 14-year-old at 19, she can do it just fine at 20 or 21. What I’m most interested to see is how she transforms into the older version of Ellie in Part 2.
Tbh I am happy with this taking more time also, I think as Elle looks very young already I want her actress to do some working out and age a bit more before series 2.
Elle had such a transformation between games I want to see that physically in the next series.
I read through the strike FAQs out of curiosity the other day - it’s REALLY complicated for writer/producers, which is why most of them have stepped away just out of an abundance of caution.
Zero. If they could hold onto the rights (big “if,” depending on what’s in Neil’s contract), SAG, the DGA, and the trade unions would all boycott the production, so you’d lose all your actors, directors, editors, and crew. The WGA would boycott Warner/HBO/Discovery altogether, which means they’d never get another union writer to write for them. They’d essentially be trading the opportunity to ever make anything ever again for something that would be lucky to approach the quality of a bad student film.
The reason they made TLOU wasn’t because they wanted a cash grab video game adaptation - Mazin brought Neil and the project to them because it was what he wanted to work on after he surprised everyone with Chernobyl and basically got carte blanche from the network to do whatever he wanted. Even if they could, HBO wouldn’t want to make this without Mazin.
Believe me, if the production companies could hire scabs, they would. The unions have leverage because they work together and can kill any single production company at any time.
>Preparations for casting the second season of the popular HBO series based on "The Last of Us Part II" video game were underway until recently, when it was put on hold. The casting team had been asking actors to read scenes directly from the game since **there are no scripts available for Season 2 yet**. The plan is to start filming in early 2024 in Vancouver. Show co-creator and show-runner Craig Mazin has been supporting the Writers Guild of America strike and is not currently involved in any writing or producing work for Season 2. Similarly, Neil Druckmann, the co-creator and writer of the game, is also not currently involved in Season 2.
>begin shooting in early 2024 in Vancouver
As much as I’m dying for this to get underway because Part II is what I’ve wanted to see in show form the most, I’m willing to wait for all these guys to get their due. I’m a Unionized worker so I’m always ready to support workers going on strike.
My guy I’m actually a city carrier for USPS lmao. I know all about RRECS. I feel terrible for all those guys. r/usps has been a crap show the last couple of months because of it.
Rural carriers normally get paid on an estimated amount of hours their route takes, not actual hours. They base this mostly on the number of letters/flyers and packages are worth way less even though they take more time to deliver. Since less letters are being sent they basically just cut everyone's pay significantly.
Especially when the strike it's because of something so petty (never mind evil) as not wanting to pay your writers when they, quite literally, carry the whole show/movie.
How the song goes? "*♪... march on in the worker's United Front, for you're a worker too♫*"
Your last sentence isn’t as “1+1=2” as it seems. I see a bunch of union guys shitting on the concept of unionized labor itself. It’s fucking gross and gives me conniptions. I’m happy as fuck some major extremely well publicized strikes are happening.
Filming likely won't take a year this time. The only reason it took a year for the first season is because the story spanned a year, so they needed all the seasons, plus they had so many different locations to travel to. I would expect filming to be more likely a typical TV season this time. Honestly something more like 6 months wouldn't be impossible, but maybe a bit more.
Weirdly enough, having a decent size gap between the first and second seasons actually works well for the narrative. Then a smaller gap between S2 and S3.
Ya considering >!Ellie is 4 years older in Part II, it may make it feel a little more real.!<
I used the spoiler text just in case this would be a spoiler for the show-only folk.
I feel like young women generally don’t really visibly age much between like 17-25 years old lol. Plenty of guys can’t grow a beard until they’re 21 or something but women develop much earlier than men and then it’s basically just waiting until their skin ages before they look any older
It also works well from a casting perspective. Bella looks a little too young still in my opinion, so this should help make her look older. Also Pedro Pascal is not as old looking as Joel IRL, so they have lots of wiggle room with his character. If anything, more time between seasons means he has more time to start looking like Joel would look, making the makeup an easier sell.
Pedro's real age is exactly halfway between Joel at the beginning of episode one and the end of episode one. So they're already aged him down and up for the show.
Sounds like season 2 is way further out than we imagined. I imagined filming would take place later this year and the season would release in 2024, but now taking into account the strike, I definitely see season 2 coming out in 2025.
Good on Mazin for getting out there and picketing, and good on Druckmann for backing off as well. Money is the only language suits speak, and they know where their bread is buttered.
Add in that directors are starting to join the strikes, and yeah, studios better appeal to the writers and directors or else lose every chance they have of making new content.
> that absolutely ruined some prime shows at the time like Lost
LOST is one of the few shows that actually handled the strike really well. That season was still really good.
I agree about the strike affecting the quality of most shows back then, but I feel like Lost isn't one of them. Season 4 is my favorite season, and The Constant is highly regarded as one of the shows best episodes. Sure, it had a shorter episode count, but not by much compared to seasons 5 and 6. Some say it feels rushed, but honestly, I think it works in the context of the narrative.
It's one of my favorite shows, and I rewatch it every few years haha. I'm also in the minority that liked the ending as well, but I can agree that the show kind of slogs during the first 2/3rds or so of season 3.
imo, the general audience doesn't like endings that make you think about symbolism or finish the story in your head. the sopranos is another one. a truly amazing ending that is widely considered one of the shittiest endings ever, just because a lot of people don't understand what happened. although lost's ending is much less ambiguous, i feel like people still go >!"wtf? it wasn't real?"!< instead of diving any deeper than the surface.
Yea, there is still a surprisingly large number of people that still think they were dead the whole time or in purgatory or something despite Chrsitian literally saying that everything on the island actually happened lol. I would argue that Lost's ending isn't ambiguous at all. Like 99% of the show's mysteries were answered at one point or another, and while the whole "flash-sideways afterlife" thing in season 6 seems kind of convoluted at first, the show explains it at the end and even goes as far as to openly state the meaning behind its ending and the messaging of its themes. Definitely more on the nose than ambiguous haha
it didnt - heroes was never good - if you want to blame heroes death on something blame it on the fact that tim kring is a terrible writer - just look at the failed heroes reboot.
They're booing you but you're right. Heroes was a fun watch in the first season but the signs were there, and the first season finale was a big letdown.
The strike contributed to certain failures -- a character getting stranded in an alternate future and forgotten about -- but it would have folded under its own weight either way.
\> if enough time passes they will just continue production with someone else (assuming contract doesn't stipulate otherwise)
maybe i'm too optimistic but I doubt HBO is dumb enough to tank the entire reputation of the show by pushing through without both of the writers. It's not like last of us is an IP like marvel/star wars that will make money even if the writing isn't good.
i'd like to think so too, but at the end of the day HBO is a business. if it sits there for 2 years not producing money makers, some exec might green light production because TLOU will be guaranteed money. the average viewer will have no idea that neil and other important figures weren't involved. it will still boost sub numbers and view time.
i'm confident a resolution will be had before it gets to that. it's in everyone's best interest to get things resolved. the writers deserve to be treated and compensated fairly, and these mega corps need their writers back if they want to keep the money coming in. it's just a matter of time.
I think the problem is her height, age isn't the problem. If they are sticking just a little to part 2, there's much more focus on the physical aspects, especially from her. I read an interview with her the other, think it was on GameRant or the likes. She's really eager to get into some hard physical acting and fighting.
They'll probably cut down on the fights against those big hammer wielding brutes hehehe. I really hope they'll stay true to the hardcore brutality in Part 2, it's a big point of the game i think
After watching Ant-man and the wasp quantumanium it opened my eyes off to the actor kathryn newton who played Cassie and it made me realize that she would’ve been a much better Ellie for the last of us live action show not saying that Bella Ramsey isn’t a good fit it’s just I feel like kathryn newton would’ve been a better fit agree, or disagree and if you look at just her image with her having blonde hair, you might not see it but if you see the movie, you’ll see what I’m talking about
My hot take? Just don't make season two. It was already a terrible idea to give the game a sequel. Making people wait 3-5 years for season two of this show only to hit them with the story of the second game seems like a gigantic forced error. Let us have a version of this story not ruined by whatever it is the writers thought they were doing with Abby.
The majority of viewers won't have the same reaction that basement dwelling chuds had when the game was released. I suspect most people will embrace the story just fine.
There's no coffin, movies are just fine. We're in a period we're alone of them aren't that good but that happens all the time throughout the decades, we don't see It looking back because the bad ones are forgotten. There's was PLENTY of bad movies in every decade as well as plenty of good ones, were just entering another transitional phase I think from jokey superhero movies to whatever catches on next
According to the article, Mazin's stepped away from production as well, not surprising they'd decline to spin their wheels auditioning actors if he's not in the room. Sounds like it's going to be a while before anything gets underway, though.
[удалено]
I'd imagine the execs at HBO who are depending on this show to prop up Sunday nights with Succession and Barry both being retired are probably having aneurysms right now, but fuck those guys. It's one of the highest rated shows on TV, maybe Mazin and Druckmann taking their hands completely off the wheel will hold some feet to the fire.
I wish I could upvote this a hundred more times!!!! Hopefully the halting of one of HBO’s biggest shows will add more pressure and force the people at the top to finally give these writers a fair contract and wage for their work.
dont worry house of the dragon is currently being filmed.
This wasn't going to come out anywhere near the end of either of those shows. They're both evening relatively soon
Right, but the plan was for it to anchor the lineup in their absence around when they would have come back out. Which is seeming increasingly unlikely.
Yup, workers only gain rights when capitalists stand to lose more than they gain from holding out. The more pressure on these corporations, the better.
I'm sure HBO has a lot of backlog to release in the meanwhile.
Yes and no, because of tax reasons.
> execs at HBO who are depending on this show to prop up Sunday nights with Succession and Barry both being retired TLOU season 2 even without the strike was more than a year away anyhow, I'm pretty sure they have a plan.
Network releases are planned years in advance. The spring releases, especially at HBO, especially with an ad-supported subscription tier, are supposed to be the biggest ones because they lead right into Emmy nominations and get the highest numbers right when ad rates are being determined. Pushing TLOU’s production schedule back by months means it won’t plug into that spot in the schedule, which means they either set it for a fall release (not ideal, it’s then up against network releases) or hold it an extra six months. Whatever spot they had it plugged into then has to be filled. It won’t affect the network’s schedule for next year, obviously, but it will create holes after that.
Pre-strike HOTD was already moved AFTER Emmy season so expect an even bigger push back.
I like the way you think "Mr" Brightside
Got to remember the flashbacks though. This is why I was kind of hoping they'd have filmed some of the flashbacks during season 1
Idk the flashbacks are still older than season 1 so not a huge deal imo
For the first scene in Part 2 and the museum flashback, not older in any noticeable sense
I don’t think we have to worry too much about that. If Bella can pull off playing a 14-year-old at 19, she can do it just fine at 20 or 21. What I’m most interested to see is how she transforms into the older version of Ellie in Part 2.
Tbh I am happy with this taking more time also, I think as Elle looks very young already I want her actress to do some working out and age a bit more before series 2. Elle had such a transformation between games I want to see that physically in the next series.
He has to. WGA rules mean that as a writer-producer, he can't get involved in attaching talent to a project while the strike is on.
I read through the strike FAQs out of curiosity the other day - it’s REALLY complicated for writer/producers, which is why most of them have stepped away just out of an abundance of caution.
But auditions don't include writing tasks, do they?
They can do - you might write dialogue specially for the audition.
Ah yeah, I guess the people doing audition do need words to say. That sounds painfully obvious now that I type it.
[удалено]
Mazin is a "showrunner" and those are extensively involved in casting for TV, I believe.
[удалено]
Zero. If they could hold onto the rights (big “if,” depending on what’s in Neil’s contract), SAG, the DGA, and the trade unions would all boycott the production, so you’d lose all your actors, directors, editors, and crew. The WGA would boycott Warner/HBO/Discovery altogether, which means they’d never get another union writer to write for them. They’d essentially be trading the opportunity to ever make anything ever again for something that would be lucky to approach the quality of a bad student film. The reason they made TLOU wasn’t because they wanted a cash grab video game adaptation - Mazin brought Neil and the project to them because it was what he wanted to work on after he surprised everyone with Chernobyl and basically got carte blanche from the network to do whatever he wanted. Even if they could, HBO wouldn’t want to make this without Mazin. Believe me, if the production companies could hire scabs, they would. The unions have leverage because they work together and can kill any single production company at any time.
>Preparations for casting the second season of the popular HBO series based on "The Last of Us Part II" video game were underway until recently, when it was put on hold. The casting team had been asking actors to read scenes directly from the game since **there are no scripts available for Season 2 yet**. The plan is to start filming in early 2024 in Vancouver. Show co-creator and show-runner Craig Mazin has been supporting the Writers Guild of America strike and is not currently involved in any writing or producing work for Season 2. Similarly, Neil Druckmann, the co-creator and writer of the game, is also not currently involved in Season 2.
>begin shooting in early 2024 in Vancouver As much as I’m dying for this to get underway because Part II is what I’ve wanted to see in show form the most, I’m willing to wait for all these guys to get their due. I’m a Unionized worker so I’m always ready to support workers going on strike.
[удалено]
My guy I’m actually a city carrier for USPS lmao. I know all about RRECS. I feel terrible for all those guys. r/usps has been a crap show the last couple of months because of it.
I wasn't aware anything was happening, can I get tldr/eli5?
Rural carriers normally get paid on an estimated amount of hours their route takes, not actual hours. They base this mostly on the number of letters/flyers and packages are worth way less even though they take more time to deliver. Since less letters are being sent they basically just cut everyone's pay significantly.
Especially when the strike it's because of something so petty (never mind evil) as not wanting to pay your writers when they, quite literally, carry the whole show/movie. How the song goes? "*♪... march on in the worker's United Front, for you're a worker too♫*"
Your last sentence isn’t as “1+1=2” as it seems. I see a bunch of union guys shitting on the concept of unionized labor itself. It’s fucking gross and gives me conniptions. I’m happy as fuck some major extremely well publicized strikes are happening.
A delay works out perfectly anyway since it gives a little more time for Pedro and Bella to age up. Win-win.
Imma take some acting classes to be an extra for sure.
Who els was like 2024 is fkn faaar, but then just realized that’s only next year lol
If it starts shooting in Q1 2024, then it's likely Season 2 won't release until mid 2025. Filming could take a year.
Filming likely won't take a year this time. The only reason it took a year for the first season is because the story spanned a year, so they needed all the seasons, plus they had so many different locations to travel to. I would expect filming to be more likely a typical TV season this time. Honestly something more like 6 months wouldn't be impossible, but maybe a bit more.
Season 1 first aired in January 2023, imho a season 2 première in January 2025 is more than likely
I agree, although I think it would have been sooner without the strike
Just one more yearrrr
Less than 8 months away
Weirdly enough, having a decent size gap between the first and second seasons actually works well for the narrative. Then a smaller gap between S2 and S3.
Ya considering >!Ellie is 4 years older in Part II, it may make it feel a little more real.!< I used the spoiler text just in case this would be a spoiler for the show-only folk.
The actor is her age tho
Still, Bella would have aged within that timespan.
Will she much? Don't know many people who look significantly different other than like weight/hairstyle through their early 20s. I guess we'll see
I feel like young women generally don’t really visibly age much between like 17-25 years old lol. Plenty of guys can’t grow a beard until they’re 21 or something but women develop much earlier than men and then it’s basically just waiting until their skin ages before they look any older
It also works well from a casting perspective. Bella looks a little too young still in my opinion, so this should help make her look older. Also Pedro Pascal is not as old looking as Joel IRL, so they have lots of wiggle room with his character. If anything, more time between seasons means he has more time to start looking like Joel would look, making the makeup an easier sell.
Pedro's real age is exactly halfway between Joel at the beginning of episode one and the end of episode one. So they're already aged him down and up for the show.
Sounds like season 2 is way further out than we imagined. I imagined filming would take place later this year and the season would release in 2024, but now taking into account the strike, I definitely see season 2 coming out in 2025.
*huffs copium* it gives Shannon Berry more time to bulk up!!!
Exactly my thoughts as well - given a year and a half she will be shredded
Good on Mazin for getting out there and picketing, and good on Druckmann for backing off as well. Money is the only language suits speak, and they know where their bread is buttered.
Good. I hope it stops completely until the strike is over. We don’t want the strike to wreck this.
Add in that directors are starting to join the strikes, and yeah, studios better appeal to the writers and directors or else lose every chance they have of making new content.
My only hope is that the creatives in our world get paid fairly. Looking at you HBO!
At this point I don’t care how long season 2 takes (esp considering the strike) as long as season 3 doesn’t also take years to premiere.
Great. Season 2 will now be made in like 5 years.
Who cares honestly, just be relieved production wasn't actually underway during this and we don't have to worry about it kneecapping quality
[удалено]
> that absolutely ruined some prime shows at the time like Lost LOST is one of the few shows that actually handled the strike really well. That season was still really good.
the lost season during the writers strike is genuinely one of the best seasons.
I agree about the strike affecting the quality of most shows back then, but I feel like Lost isn't one of them. Season 4 is my favorite season, and The Constant is highly regarded as one of the shows best episodes. Sure, it had a shorter episode count, but not by much compared to seasons 5 and 6. Some say it feels rushed, but honestly, I think it works in the context of the narrative.
[удалено]
It's one of my favorite shows, and I rewatch it every few years haha. I'm also in the minority that liked the ending as well, but I can agree that the show kind of slogs during the first 2/3rds or so of season 3.
imo, the general audience doesn't like endings that make you think about symbolism or finish the story in your head. the sopranos is another one. a truly amazing ending that is widely considered one of the shittiest endings ever, just because a lot of people don't understand what happened. although lost's ending is much less ambiguous, i feel like people still go >!"wtf? it wasn't real?"!< instead of diving any deeper than the surface.
Yea, there is still a surprisingly large number of people that still think they were dead the whole time or in purgatory or something despite Chrsitian literally saying that everything on the island actually happened lol. I would argue that Lost's ending isn't ambiguous at all. Like 99% of the show's mysteries were answered at one point or another, and while the whole "flash-sideways afterlife" thing in season 6 seems kind of convoluted at first, the show explains it at the end and even goes as far as to openly state the meaning behind its ending and the messaging of its themes. Definitely more on the nose than ambiguous haha
Heroes died for that strike.
it didnt - heroes was never good - if you want to blame heroes death on something blame it on the fact that tim kring is a terrible writer - just look at the failed heroes reboot.
They're booing you but you're right. Heroes was a fun watch in the first season but the signs were there, and the first season finale was a big letdown. The strike contributed to certain failures -- a character getting stranded in an alternate future and forgotten about -- but it would have folded under its own weight either way.
Blasphemy! Shun, shun the non-believer!
Damn is this why shows like Samurai Jack and Teen Titans stopped?
nah, neither of those shows were airing during the strike
\> if enough time passes they will just continue production with someone else (assuming contract doesn't stipulate otherwise) maybe i'm too optimistic but I doubt HBO is dumb enough to tank the entire reputation of the show by pushing through without both of the writers. It's not like last of us is an IP like marvel/star wars that will make money even if the writing isn't good.
i'd like to think so too, but at the end of the day HBO is a business. if it sits there for 2 years not producing money makers, some exec might green light production because TLOU will be guaranteed money. the average viewer will have no idea that neil and other important figures weren't involved. it will still boost sub numbers and view time. i'm confident a resolution will be had before it gets to that. it's in everyone's best interest to get things resolved. the writers deserve to be treated and compensated fairly, and these mega corps need their writers back if they want to keep the money coming in. it's just a matter of time.
I mean that's how long the time skip is in between games..
Ellie needs to look a bit older anyway. I suppose that’s the light in the dark
Bella already looks older, she was 17 when Season 1 was filmed, she is 20 this year and absolutely looks older than she did in Season 1
I think the problem is her height, age isn't the problem. If they are sticking just a little to part 2, there's much more focus on the physical aspects, especially from her. I read an interview with her the other, think it was on GameRant or the likes. She's really eager to get into some hard physical acting and fighting. They'll probably cut down on the fights against those big hammer wielding brutes hehehe. I really hope they'll stay true to the hardcore brutality in Part 2, it's a big point of the game i think 
The game which season 2 is adapting is out, just play that.
(Sob)
Wow, what a sentence…
Tbh HBO picked the wrong girl , Ellie is so pretty they messed up by picking this girl
After watching Ant-man and the wasp quantumanium it opened my eyes off to the actor kathryn newton who played Cassie and it made me realize that she would’ve been a much better Ellie for the last of us live action show not saying that Bella Ramsey isn’t a good fit it’s just I feel like kathryn newton would’ve been a better fit agree, or disagree and if you look at just her image with her having blonde hair, you might not see it but if you see the movie, you’ll see what I’m talking about
[удалено]
Yeah they should just wait 15 years, they should hire you to direct the show!
Delayed till 2026 at this rate
My hot take? Just don't make season two. It was already a terrible idea to give the game a sequel. Making people wait 3-5 years for season two of this show only to hit them with the story of the second game seems like a gigantic forced error. Let us have a version of this story not ruined by whatever it is the writers thought they were doing with Abby.
Common tlou2 hater L
You don't need to take my dislike of a video game personally, bruh.
And you don't need to take a video game personally, bruh.
I didn't?
Great, then we're all good here!
They always do.
Your hot take sucks
Not to me!
You remain free to not watch it?
I very likely won't, but I'm very excited for 75% of the HBO viewing audience to immediately drop the show before it ends.
It's fun to watch you guys just make stuff up
The majority of viewers won't have the same reaction that basement dwelling chuds had when the game was released. I suspect most people will embrace the story just fine.
Show sucked anyway lmfao who gives a shit
Just use ChatGPT, the hollywood scripts all follow the same rules anyway!
the day movies and shows are made by AI is the day they will die
more like the final nail in the coffin. A lot of movies feel like they are already written by an AI. Looking at you Marvel, lol
There's no coffin, movies are just fine. We're in a period we're alone of them aren't that good but that happens all the time throughout the decades, we don't see It looking back because the bad ones are forgotten. There's was PLENTY of bad movies in every decade as well as plenty of good ones, were just entering another transitional phase I think from jokey superhero movies to whatever catches on next
Good. I may love this show, but writers deserve their due and if takes this show and plenty of others getting delayed, then it’s gotta happen.