The Walking Dead boss talks competing with HBO’s The Last of Us
By Ashley Hurst
Will AMC’s The Walking Dead and HBO’s The Last of Us compete with each other? Walking Dead boss Scott Gimple doesn’t think so.
The Walking Dead has consistently been the highest-rated zombie show on television for almost a decade now. During its time on our screens, there have been ups and downs, but it is still considered by many as the standard by which all new zombie shows are judged. But a challenger is hoping to claim the top spot.
In 2022, HBO will debut its adaptation of The Last of Us, the zombie video game series from Sony and Naughty Dog. We’re not sure if the eleventh and final season of The Walking Dead will have aired by then, but at the rate TWD universe is expanding, there’ll probably be some Walking Dead show or another to compete with The Last of Us at the time.
Are we looking at a zombie show blood fued? The Walking Dead over-boss Scott Gimple doesn’t think so.
The Last of Us begins around 20 years into a zombie apocalypse, meaning its set further into the outbreak than The Walking Dead show has ever reached. Unlike The Walking Dead, we actually know what caused the apocalypse. In this case, it’s a fungus that infects people and takes over their bodies.
The story follows Joel, who risks everything to take Ellie, a young girl who seems immune to the infection, to a facility across the country in the hope of finding a cure.
With cinematic gameplay and an emotional storyline, The Last of Us appears to be a great choice for a TV show. Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) is on board to produce the show alongside the game’s writer Neil Druckmann. At the moment, there is no casting news.
Speaking to Insider, Gimple said that he’s not worried about competing with The Last of Us. “I think there’s room for all of us, with zombies and the different ways of telling zombie tales,” he said. “I’m going to be watching both. I hope a lot of people will be watching.”
Gimple is a big fan of both The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II, which came out this year. “It’s an amazing game,” he said. “There are some amazing creators that have gotten involved in it and I think it’s incredibly different than ‘The Walking Dead.’ It’s a very, very different take.”
So the head guy isn’t going to get competitive. It might be different with fans. It’s a given that viewers will scrutinize and compare both shows, which should be interesting; a little competition can be healthy.
If there’s one thing we know for certain, it’s that zombie shows aren’t going anywhere anytime soon.
Next. The Walking Dead: 8 theories on what caused the zombie outbreak. dark
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