You might think that Craig Mazin is a big consumer of zombie movies. But that's definitely not the case.
Actually, I don't like zombie movies at all. I've never been drawn to the genre, and that's why I was initially hesitant to start playing the game "The Last of Us", he tells TT.
But he did, after all, and together with the game's creator Neil Druckmann, he has made the TV version into one of the most watched and hyped in recent years.
In the series, the earth is struck by a mysterious disease that turns people into bloodthirsty monsters. The human survivors fight for their lives – and against each other. Ellie, who is immune, takes herself together with smuggler Joel through a violent USA.
Threatened by zombies
When season two begins, five years have passed, they live in the fortified city of Jackson in Wyoming and are threatened by both zombie hordes and a person from Joel's past.
Craig Mazin writes the scripts and collaborates with Neil Druckmann, who created the game "The Last of Us". He emphasizes that they follow the events in the game closely, but that they are sometimes forced to deviate from the plot.
We know that the game's fans are extremely passionate, they are nervous about what we do, and I understand them. But we are careful not to do anything that breaks the spirit of the game. We adapt something we love, says Mazin.
The first season was based on the first edition of the game. Season two ends with a real cliffhanger and will get a continuation.
I know how it ends, but we haven't gotten to whether it will only be a third or possibly a fourth season. But then it's over and I move on to something else.
"Should be taken seriously"
For many years now, video games have been made into films. A current example is "The Minecraft movie".
I'm fascinated by how you make films based on games where there isn't really any real plot, no dialogue like when Joel and Ellie talk. I try to see as many of these films as I can. I've played video games my whole life, and they should be taken seriously.
One of the newcomers in season two is Kaitlyn Dever, who plays Abby, a woman whose actions will have a significant impact on the series.
When I played "The Last of Us" with my dad, I was extremely fascinated by how beautiful and nice it was. And in the second one, Abby came in out of nowhere and changed everything. It was an experience to now get to portray her, she says.
Age: 54 years.
Lives: In Los Angeles.
Family: Wife Melissa, two children.
Occupation: Screenwriter, director.
Previous films and TV series (as screenwriter): "Scary movie", "The Hangover 2", "The Hangover 3", "Chernobyl".
Currently with: The new season of "The Last of Us" which starts airing on Max on April 14.
