Latest news with #FutureDays'
Yahoo
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
For 'The Last of Us' cast, music was a throughline on and off screen
Throughout HBO's post-apocalyptic series 'The Last of Us,' music plays a role in setting the mood for moments big and small, heartfelt and heart-wrenching. It's not unlike the video game, which was hailed for its original soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla (who is also a composer on the show), and for the pop music covers that helped to elevate the narrative. In the most recent episode of Season 2 of 'The Last of Us,' titled 'The Price,' there's a callback to a scene from the game that fans have been waiting for: Joel (Pedro Pascal) performs a stripped down version of Pearl Jam's 'Future Days' for Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The song captures the themes of loss and losing yourself, but also of moving forward together. And it's not the only instance of a pop song showcasing characters' emotions — in 'Day One,' the fourth episode of Season 2, Ellie performs an acoustic cover of A-ha's 'Take on Me' as Dina (Isabela Merced) walks in and gently persuades her to continue playing the tender rendition. It's another adaptation from the video game that signals the kindling of the relationship between Ellie and Dina. 'Bella is playing the guitar in the scene where Ellie plays the guitar and sings 'Take on Me' to Dina. That's Bella. No tricks,' said Craig Mazin, co-creator of 'The Last of Us,' in an interview earlier this year. For Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the series and the video game franchise, he knew that when Ramsey was cast, the actor's musical abilities would be an asset for future installments. 'I remember seeing a video of them playing and singing and talking to Craig and being like, 'Oh, they're ready to go for if we get to Season 2,'' he said. Ramsey, however, isn't alone in their musical abilities. Over the course of the season in interviews with the cast and creators of the series, it became clear that music was a shared passion that bonded them on and off screen. Here, we collect some of their thoughts on music and performing together. For Bella Ramsey, music has been another creative outlet that brings them joy. In an interview before the launch of Season 2, Ramsey would only tease the possibility of Ellie picking up a guitar like in the game, but did share that making music is something they were doing 'quietly at the moment.' Read more: Bella Ramsey is embracing the difficult parts of Ellie and 'The Last of Us' 'Up until recently, I've been very embarrassed by music and not very confident in it at all, my own music,' Ramsey told The Times. But 'through the producers that I've been working with [and] an amazing music manager, Tom, I feel really excited about it now.' While Ramsey isn't quite sure when they'll be releasing any of their own music — they headed directly into production of an indie film following 'The Last of Us' press tour — they said that when they do, it will 'probably [be] in a sneaky way.' 'Making music has sort of given me the same feelings of like joy and satisfaction that being on set gives me,' Ramsey said. If you follow Gabriel Luna on Instagram, many of the stories and posts he's published over the course of the second season have featured him performing on red carpets or with his castmates, jamming during down time on the set of the show. (While in London for one of the show's premieres, he "bought a guitar because my hands were just itching.") In an interview tied to the third episode, he spoke about the mutual admiration between the actors in the cast: "There's real love there, even among the people who are onscreen nemeses, mortal enemies. I think that's what makes it safe to hate each other, to seek each other's demise [onscreen].' Read more: Gabriel Luna on Tommy's goodbye to Joel in 'The Last of Us' and its double meaning That love is evident in those jam sessions, which have included covers of the Cranberries and Radiohead. But a video featuring him strumming a guitar with his young castmate Ezra Agbonkhese, who plays Tommy's son Benjamin, is one of the sweetest. Agbonkhese and Luna duet to 'Off Road Racing Truck' by Twenty Trucks, which you guessed it, is about racing trucks. According to Young Mazino, guitars were a lifesaver on the set of 'The Last of Us.' 'We all brought a guitar without even telling each other so there was always a guitar on set,' Mazino told The Times in advance of the show's fifth episode. 'Bella, Isabella, Gabriel … Somebody would be playing some tune or a song, and if we knew it, we join in [or] we learn it.' Read more: 'The Last of Us' star Young Mazino on Jesse, the show's 'gentle monster' The world of the series is plenty bleak with the ever present threat of the fungal infection that turns human hosts into ravenous, zombie-like creatures. In Season 2, Mazino's character Jesse had to track his closest friends, who are on a quest for vengeance, into a war zone. He explained that everybody's love of music and 'trad[ing] songs like Pokémon' helped provide some needed levity during marathon shooting days where things tended to get heavy. 'Isabella and Bella would randomly break out into an a cappella somewhere,' Mazino said. 'I could just hear their angelic voices in the mix while I'm brooding in a corner getting ready.' Sign up for Screen Gab, a free newsletter about the TV and movies everyone's talking about from the L.A. Times. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Los Angeles Times
23-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
For ‘The Last of Us' cast, music was a throughline on and off screen
Throughout HBO's post-apocalyptic series 'The Last of Us,' music plays a role in setting the mood for moments big and small, heartfelt and heart-wrenching. It's not unlike the video game, which was hailed for its original soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla (who is also a composer on the show), and for the pop music covers that helped to elevate the narrative. In the most recent episode of Season 2 of 'The Last of Us,' titled 'The Price,' there's a callback to a scene from the game that fans have been waiting for: Joel (Pedro Pascal) performs a stripped down version of Pearl Jam's 'Future Days' for Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The song captures the themes of loss and losing yourself, but also of moving forward together. And it's not the only instance of a pop song showcasing characters' emotions — in 'Day One,' the fourth episode of Season 2, Ellie performs an acoustic cover of A-ha's 'Take on Me' as Dina (Isabela Merced) walks in and gently persuades her to continue playing the tender rendition. It's another adaptation from the video game that signals the kindling of the relationship between Ellie and Dina. 'Bella is playing the guitar in the scene where Ellie plays the guitar and sings 'Take on Me' to Dina. That's Bella. No tricks,' said Craig Mazin, co-creator of 'The Last of Us,' in an interview earlier this year. For Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the series and the video game franchise, he knew that when Ramsey was cast, the actor's musical abilities would be an asset for future installments. 'I remember seeing a video of them playing and singing and talking to Craig and being like, 'Oh, they're ready to go for if we get to Season 2,'' he said. Ramsey, however, isn't alone in their musical abilities. Over the course of the season in interviews with the cast and creators of the series, it became clear that music was a shared passion that bonded them on and off screen. Here, we collect some of their thoughts on music and performing together. For Bella Ramsey, music has been another creative outlet that brings them joy. In an interview before the launch of Season 2, Ramsey would only tease the possibility of Ellie picking up a guitar like in the game, but did share that making music is something they were doing 'quietly at the moment.' 'Up until recently, I've been very embarrassed by music and not very confident in it at all, my own music,' Ramsey told The Times. But 'through the producers that I've been working with [and] an amazing music manager, Tom, I feel really excited about it now.' While Ramsey isn't quite sure when they'll be releasing any of their own music — they headed directly into production of an indie film following 'The Last of Us' press tour — they said that when they do, it will 'probably [be] in a sneaky way.' 'Making music has sort of given me the same feelings of like joy and satisfaction that being on set gives me,' Ramsey said. If you follow Gabriel Luna on Instagram, many of the stories and posts he's published over the course of the second season have featured him performing on red carpets or with his castmates, jamming during down time on the set of the show. (While in London for one of the show's premieres, he 'bought a guitar because my hands were just itching.') In an interview tied to the third episode, he spoke about the mutual admiration between the actors in the cast: 'There's real love there, even among the people who are onscreen nemeses, mortal enemies. I think that's what makes it safe to hate each other, to seek each other's demise [onscreen].' That love is evident in those jam sessions, which have included covers of the Cranberries and Radiohead. But a video featuring him strumming a guitar with his young castmate Ezra Agbonkhese, who plays Tommy's son Benjamin, is one of the sweetest. Agbonkhese and Luna duet to 'Off Road Racing Truck' by Twenty Trucks, which you guessed it, is about racing trucks. According to Young Mazino, guitars were a lifesaver on the set of 'The Last of Us.' 'We all brought a guitar without even telling each other so there was always a guitar on set,' Mazino told The Times in advance of the show's fifth episode. 'Bella, Isabella, Gabriel … Somebody would be playing some tune or a song, and if we knew it, we join in [or] we learn it.' The world of the series is plenty bleak with the ever present threat of the fungal infection that turns human hosts into ravenous, zombie-like creatures. In Season 2, Mazino's character Jesse had to track his closest friends, who are on a quest for vengeance, into a war zone. He explained that everybody's love of music and 'trad[ing] songs like Pokémon' helped provide some needed levity during marathon shooting days where things tended to get heavy. 'Isabella and Bella would randomly break out into an a cappella somewhere,' Mazino said. 'I could just hear their angelic voices in the mix while I'm brooding in a corner getting ready.'
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Last of Us' Season 2, Episode 6 recap: Pedro Pascal and Joe Pantoliano will emotionally wreck you
The Last of Us Season 2, Episode 6 may in fact be the best episode in the season. But be prepared, because this episode is likely to emotionally wreck you. We're taking a bit of a pause on Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina's (Isabela Merced) journey and we're going back in time, before Joel's (Pedro Pascal) death. We begin by getting a glimpse into Joel's childhood, ahead of seeing the events of Ellie's 15th, 16th, 17th and 19th birthdays. Where to watch The Last of Us: Crave in Canada, HBO and Max in the Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey WrightNumber of episodes: 7 The episode begins in Austin, Texas in 1983, with a young Joel trying to console his brother Tommy, who's concerned that their father is going to be so mad that he'll "get the belt" as punishment for an altercation involving Tommy buying drugs. Joel tells his brother he'll take the punishment for what he did. Tommy's in his room when their father, a police officer played by Tony Dalton, shows up. He demands that Joel tells him what happened with his brother, in the 30 minutes before he has to be back on patrol. Joel tells his dad he was buying pot from a kid who tried to rip him off, and they got into a fight. But his dad isn't buying it, saying that he knows it was Tommy who was buying the drugs. Joel and Tommy's dad goes to the fridge and gets a beer for himself, and Joel, telling him a "humiliating" story about how he stole a candy bar as a kid and his father broke his jaw. Stressing that even though he's hit Joel and Tommy, it was "never like that." And just like he's done a "little better" than his father, he hopes Joel does the same when he becomes a father. Moving forward in the timeline to Ellie's 15th birthday, Joel trades Seth (Robert John Burke) a bag of LEGO pieces for his grandkids for a cake for Ellie's birthday. Back at home, Joel is painstakingly restoring a guitar for Ellie when Tommy brings her back home. Ellie burned her arm while working kitchen duty alone. She pushed her forearm, where her bite mark is, up against a hot pot. "I just wanted to wear short sleeves again," Ellie says, as Joel comforts her. The next day she comes downstairs to see a birthday cake with "Happy Birthday Eli" on it, prompting Joel to say he hopes Seth bakes better than he can spell. Then Joel gives her the guitar and, after Ellie's insistence that he play her a song, he plays 'Future Days' by Pearl Jam, which we heard Ellie play in Episode 5. What's appealing about this week's episode is that we're back to the great banter between and Ellie and Joel, particularly true when we get to Ellie's 16th birthday. As they hike through the forest, Joel and Ellie talk about how Ellie wants to be on patrol, and Joel thinks that she has a crush on Jesse. But Joel's birthday surprise brings them to the abandoned Wyoming Museum of Science and History. He even went earlier to prep some of the exhibits for her to experience. Ellie is particularly amazed by the Apollo 15 capsule from the 1971 mission, and breaks the glass that's housing an original helmet, which she puts on her head. Laying inside the spacecraft, Joel hands Ellie a cassette tape, which has a recording of the audio from the space launch. Ellie has a massive smile on her face as she imagines going to space, and Joel is just as happy to see Ellie happy. Then we skip ahead one year later, Ellie's 17th birthday. But this time as Joel goes to Ellie's room to bring her a cake, he interrupts her spending some intimate time with Kat (Noah Lamanna). They were also smoking weed and Kat was tattooing Ellie's forearm, where Ellie burnt herself. That night, Ellie tries to move her mattress into the garage and gives Joel attitude about not "owning anything," because they live in a home he was given. And Joel agrees that she should have her own space, but asks for a few days to fix up the garage. Joel is curious about Ellie's obsession with moths, and when he asks Gail (Catherine O'Hara) what they mean, Gail says they usually signify death in dreams. As Ellie is packing up her room to move into the garage, including her moth drawings, we see "You have a greater purpose" written on one of the papers. Moving to Ellie's 19th birthday, she's on her bed reading out a list of questions for Joel about what happened in Salt Lake, including how they got out of the hospital, how the Fireflies could have been surprised by a group of raiders and why no one has heard of the immune people. But she's interrupted by Joel who tells her he's agreed to have trained for patrol. As they go out together, Joel says it would be nice if they could spend more time together, but then he gets a call that Eugene needs back up. While Joel tells Ellie to go home she responds with, "I'm not your f—king kid, Joel. I'm your partner. We stick together." As they reach Eugene (Joe Pantoliano), they see that he has a bite, but he wants them to bring him to the gate of the Jackson community so he can say goodbye to Gail. Ellie tries to get Joel to agree and he tells her to go get the horses while he walks up with Eugene, promising Ellie they'll all travel back. But when she leaves, Joel guides Eugene towards the water to shoot him. "I need her last words, for me!" Eugene cries. "I'm dying. I'm terrified. I don't need a view, I need Gail. To see her face, please. Please let that be the last thing I see." "If you love someone, you can always see their face," Joel says in response. "I see her," Eugene says just before he's killed. When Ellie arrives, Joel tells her he's sorry, and as they ride back, dragging Eugene's covered body, Joel says he'll tell Gail what she needs to know, "nothing more," and the he "had no choice." Then we see the heartbreaking moment when Gail stands next to Eugene's wrapped up body. Joel says Eugene told him to tell her that he loved her and that he wished he could say goodbye to her in person, but he didn't want to put her in danger. Joel added that Eugene ended it himself. But Ellie speaks up and says that's not what happened. She tells Gail that Eugene begged to see her and Joel promised them both that he could, but then Joel shot him in the head. Gail slaps Joel across the face, telling him to get away from her as she cries over Eugene's dead body. Another time jump to the New Year's Eve party we saw at the beginning of the season, we see what we missed in that first episode. While Ellie told Gail she didn't speak to Joel that night, that's not true. After Seth harasses Ellie and Dina who are dancing together and kissing, and Joel pushes him, Ellie goes to talk to Joel, as he's playing the guitar on the porch. At first, Ellie is adamant that she had Seth under control and she doesn't want to hear about Joel taking her off patrol again. Joel acknowledges what Ellie said and asks if Dina is her girlfriend. Ellie says no, but admits she does like her. "She'd be lucky to have you," Joel says, as Ellie responds by saying he's an asshole for lying to her about Eugene. But she recognizes that he had the same look in Salt Lake. "I'm going to give you one last chance, tell me what happened with the Fireflies. If you lie to me again, we're done," Ellie says. Joel confirms, just by shaking and nodding his head, that there weren't other immune people, or raiders, and they could have made a cure. When Ellie asks if Joel killed the Fireflies, he nods his head yes, and says that a cure would have meant Ellie died. "That was my purpose. My life would have f—king mattered!" Ellie shouts back. "But you took that from me. You took that from everyone." "Yes, and I'll pay the price. Because you're going to turn away from me. But somehow if I had a second chance at that moment, I'd do it over again," Joel says. Ellie calls Joel "selfish," but his response is that he did it because he loves her, in a way that she doesn't understand. "If you should have one of your own, ... I hope you do a little better than me," Joel says sobbing, echoing what he heard from his own father. While Ellie admits she's not sure if she can forgive Joel, she says she wants to "try." And that's the end of the look back at Joel and Ellie's relationship, as we're left with a final image of Ellie walking in the rain, after beating Nora (Tati Gabrielle).
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Last of Us' Season 2, Episode 5 recap: Return of Tati Gabrielle and more surprise appearances
We've reached the final three episodes of The Last of Us Season 2, as we follow Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Dina (Isabela Merced) on their quest to find Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). Travelling through Seattle amid the feud between the Washington Liberation Front (W.L.F.) and Seraphites, also called Scars, things get even more gruesome on the show this week. But continuing a pattern we've seen in multiple episodes now, Episode 5 starts with a look back at the past. Specifically with Hanrahan, played by Alanna Ubach. Where to watch The Last of Us: Crave in Canada, HBO and Max in the Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Spencer Lord, Danny Ramirez, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey WrightNumber of episodes: 7 The episode begins with Hanrahan, arriving at a hospital controlled by the W.L.F., noticing a stairwell boarded up. She then questions Elise Park (Hettienne Park) about why she killed some of her own men by doing so, "including Leon." Elise explains that her unit was responsible for securing the hospital, which they did without trouble, and all that was left was the basement. But with components of the building collapsing, there was only one stairwell with access to the three basement levels. After B1 was clear, Elise sent a team to B2 the next day, led by Leon, who she highlights was particularly skilled. Leon was able to radio back an update that there were Cordyceps, then five minutes later he communicated again, but could hardly speak. Elise thought he had been bitten, but Leon said, "It's in the air. Seal us in." Elise and the rest of the team did as Leon said. That's when Hanrahan reveals the most devastating part of the story, saying "I'm sorry about your son." Continuing with Dina and Ellie, it's Day Two in Seattle and Dina is trying to figure out a route to get to the W.L.F. occupied hospital, as she's been listening to the Wolves communicate through the radio they were able to get their hands on. That's not really Ellie's strength, so she's spending her time playing the guitar in the empty theatre where they've found shelter. Ellie starts to sing 'Future Days' by Pearl Jam with the line, "If I ever were to lose you." While that may not mean much to those who just watch the show, video game fans know how important that song is to characters Ellie and Joel. It's a moment we see in the game where Joel is really trying to express his love for Ellie, that he loves her like a daughter. But back to Dina and Ellie's journey, Dina found a gap in the W.L.F. patrol setup, identifying a building they can travel through, but the concern is that the Wolves don't have eyes on it because it's filled with infected, making it a "reckless" move, as Dina describes. But one they take anyways. Dina also highlights that the Wolves are talking freely through the radio, which makes her think the Scars are like the Amish, choosing to live without technology, allowing the W.L.F. to communicate knowing their enemies aren't listening. As they continue to try to get to the hospital, they see dead bodies, which makes Ellie question why Dina is coming along, especially because she's pregnant. But Dina responds by telling Ellie about the first time she killed someone. When Dina was little she lived with her family in a cabin in a forest, north of Santa Fe, and she would beg her mom to let her play outside. One day when Dina was eight, she went outside alone, defying her mom's wishes. When she got back to the cabin there was a raider there and she could hear her family screaming. She was too late to save her family, but she shot the raider. Dina tells Ellie that if he had gotten away, she would have hunted that raider down forever. That's enough for Ellie to agree to continue the journey as a pair. She knows Dina understands her need to find Abby. As Ellie and Dina arrive at the building Dina scouted, they come in contact with the "smart" infected, who strategize and hide. Both Ellie and Dina are attacked by the infected stalkers and they're saved by Jesse (Young Mazino). Jesse and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) snuck out of Jackson to try to find Ellie and Dina, and Jesse was able to track them to the theatre, where he saw Dina's map. Jesse, Ellie and Dina get to a park, an area the Wolves won't go. But they see Scars murdering a W.L.F. member, hanging him and cutting open his torso, just like the bodies they saw earlier in their journey. But then an arrow hits Dina, with Ellie telling Jesse to get Dina back to the theatre. Instead of following Jesse and Dina, Ellie sees the hospital and takes her chance. She finds Nora (Tati Gabrielle) and tries to get her to reveal where Abby is, by holding her at gunpoint, but it doesn't work. Nora says she's sorry Ellie saw Joel die, but "the little bitch got what he deserved," and Nora tries to flee. As they both run down the hallway, Nora jumps into an elevator shaft, which leads to the dreaded B2 basement level Hanrahan and Elise were talking about at the beginning of the episode. Ellie climbs down to B2 and sees the walls and floor full of Cordyceps, with spores in the air, and one person stuck to a wall with Cordyceps. The badge on his shirt says, "L. Park," it's Leon, Elise's son, stuck in pain between life and death. As Ellie continues exploring the basement, she hears Nora coughing and wheezing, who says now they're both infected by breathing in the spores. But Nora then realizes that Ellie is "the immune girl." Ellie once again asks where Abby is, Nora won't tell her, but says Joel killed everyone in the Fireflies hospital, including the only person who could develop a cure, Abby's father. "Joel shot him in the head. That's what he did," Nora says. Ellie puts away her gun, kneels down and again, asks where Abby is, but Nora still refuses to tell her. Ellie then picks up a metal pipe she sees on the ground and asks one more time, before beating Nora. To end the episode, we cut to the past with Ellie asleep in her bed, being woken up by Joel saying, "Hey, kiddo."
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Pearl Jam Release Compilation Inspired by HBO's ‘The Last of Us'
Pearl Jam have released a new four-track collection of songs connected to The Last of Us franchise, tying together their long-running relationship with the acclaimed video game series and its HBO adaptation. The EP includes studio cuts, a live performance, and a reworked fan favorite, and arrives with an exclusive vinyl edition available only to Ten Club members. More from Billboard Bad Bunny's 'Debí Tirar Más Fotos' Returns to No. 1 on Billboard 200 After Vinyl Release John Legend Says He's Shocked by Ye's 'Descent' Into 'Antisemitism' and 'Anti-Blackness' Kelly Clarkson Tells Fans She's 'Bummed' Her Talk Show Stops Her From Touring During NJ Concert The tracklist features the original studio version of 'Future Days' from 2013's Lightning Bolt, as well as 'All or None' from Riot Act (2002). On the flip side of the vinyl pressing, fans will find a new live version of 'Future Days,' recorded at the 2024 Ohana Festival, and a reimagined take on No Code's 'Present Tense,' titled 'Present Tense (Redux).' 'Future Days' has become deeply embedded in the lore of The Last of Us. In The Last of Us Part II, Joel plays the song for Ellie in one of the game's most emotional scenes, and it reappears throughout the storyline as a symbol of connection and loss. That moment was first brought to life outside the game in 2020, when Eddie Vedder performed 'Future Days' live at The Game Awards as a tribute to the game's impact. In season two of HBO's The Last of Us, the song makes a quiet return. In episode five, Ellie picks up a guitar inside a Seattle theater and softly sings the first line of 'Future Days,' the moment mirroring a pivotal scene from the video game The Last of Us Part II, where Joel plays the full song for Ellie in a flashback. The compilation is available now on all major streaming platforms. A limited edition 12-inch vinyl version has also been released through Pearl Jam's official site, but is exclusive to registered members of The Ten Club. This release lands in the middle of Pearl Jam's 2025 global tour in support of their twelfth studio album Dark Matter, which debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200. The band's current run includes appearances across North America and Europe, and has already featured standout moments, including a performance of 'Black' in Nashville with Peter Frampton. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
