Joel Miller and his family attempt to escape the deadly fungal outbreak in a new The Last of Us episode 1 clip. Based on the critically-acclaimed PlayStation 3 video game of the same name, HBO's upcoming television adaptation stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, a weathered black market smuggler who has been tasked to escort 14-year-old orphan Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across a zombie-infested United States to the idealistic militant faction known as the Fireflies. With Ellie carrying a rare immunity to the fungal infection within her body, the Fireflies aim to use her to create a vaccine that may save the world.

Prior to Nico Parker's interview on The Late Show with Seth Meyers, the host shared a clip from The Last of Us that shows Joel attempting to escape the deadly outbreak with his family.


Real fear grips Sarah (Nico Parker) as she questions her father and Uncle Tommy (Gabriel Luna) about the chaos unfolding in the world around them. As Tommy assesses the situation, Joel attempts to calm his daughter, keeping her mental well-being as his priority.

The Last of Us Zombie Outbreak Explained


The original The Last of Us video game based its zombie infection on a real-world fungus called cordyceps. Although the fungus is harmless to humans, various strains target certain animals and affect their behavior, causing them to become a slave to the fungus and sprout tendrils from their bodies. Game creator, Neil Druckmann, imagined a mutated version of the fungus that could infect humans and change their behavior as well.

As the Cordyceps infection takes hold of a carrier in the game, specifically the host's brain, fungal growths begin to sprout from the head and eyes. This leads to one of the franchise's most iconic forms of infected, the Clicker, a hideous creature with growths blocking its vision, forcing it to use vocal clicks to navigate through echolocation. The Last of Us originally featured four stages of infection, however its video game sequel, The Last of Us Part II, included additional terrifying infected. The HBO adaptation's co-creator, Craig Mazin, recently revealed that a new infected type was developed specifically for the show.

In the original game, the outbreak occurred swiftly. Citizens were caught off-guard, forcing them to flee the murderous infected at the same time. The confusion led to chaos and mass deaths as the military attempted to control the spread of the fungus. With The Last of Us premiering this Sunday, audiences can witness the devastation of the outbreak for themselves.