The Last of Us - The Mushrooms From The Series
The creator of Last of Us believes that the mushrooms from the series are a real threat: "They've been doing it forever".
The Last of Us, an HBO post-apocalyptic series, imagines a future in which the parasitic fungus Cordyceps, which normally infects ants and insects, has grown to the point where it can rule the human species.
The series is based on the video game of the same name and follows Joel (Pedro Pascal), who is charged with chasing Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the United States after a fungus decimates society as we know it. And, according to series creator Craig Mazin, the Cordyceps threat is "real."
The series begins with a brief prologue in 1968, in which Dr. Neuman (John Hannah) explains how the fungus infects ants before warning that Cordyceps may mutate to target humans if the planet warms due to climate change. Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter that the prologue is based on true events.
"It's true — true in the sense that the mushrooms do everything he says they do. And they're doing it right now and have been for a long time. There are some terrifying documentaries available to view " Mazin stated and added that he did not believe mushrooms could evolve and infect humans, but that hallucinogenic medications such as LSD are derived from many mushrooms.
"Now his caveat - what if they evolved and got into us? From a purely scientific point of view, would they do to us exactly what they do to ants? I don't think so. I doubt it. On the other hand, he's right - LSD and psilocybin do come from mushrooms" Mazin said.
Mazin previously developed the Emmy-winning HBO series Chernobyl, which was based on the tragic 1986 nuclear disaster, and he stated that working on The Last of Us reminded him of the 2019 series.
"What gave me chills was that the Chernobyl nuclear power plant exploded that night, but it could have exploded a week before or a month before," he said, adding that these disasters could happen but we "just don't know about it."
"Which means right now there's something just waiting to explode — you just don't know about it. It was so unnerving to tell people, 'We knew about this, it was there, now we're going to show the night it finally happened.' Not all at once, but finally," he said.
Post by Bryan C.
