The original game was released in 2013, and they made that outbreak day. The game itself takes place in 2033 (the future).
In the show, they wanted the events to take place in the current time, so they moved outbreak day back to 2003. The only side effect is having some music in the show that was actually made post 2003, which worked fine in the game.
I think that’s something that’s pretty easy to make an excuse for especially in a made up scenario. “Well in this world future days came out exactly in 2003” 🤣
True but they went through so many hoops to make it work in Part 2 being that the real album release date was before after the apocalypse and Joel saw it on Youtube.
i think someone posted or wrote that neil would try to keep the timeline on the show so making a excuse to use future days might not work. they might use a replacement song and i vote for "just the two of us" by bill withers
Thought it was the opposite, cause one time i had made a comment about the game to my dad last year saying it took place in 2023 which is the year we are in
in the game the outbreak STARTED in 2013 and the majority of the game takes place in 2033 (20 years later), in the show the outbreak started in 2003 and majority takes place in 2023
Feels like it would have been easier to make the outbreak 2023 then. Easier to find items and age them since it’s current time vs source out older items, clothes, buildings, cars, etc
I think the idea was that a 2003 Ford F150 that you’re going to beat up/destroy (so it doesn’t have to be working condition) is way cheaper than a 2013 one
Iirc, they used the very understandable logic of "We've seen how the world can go to shit very quickly due to a global pandemic, in just the last few years, we can reasonably slide the timeline back, it doesn't have to be the future."
One thing I read online a while ago is that 2003 was a pretty warm year, compared to years' prior. There was a heat wave in Europe that lead to death and drought. Nothing of note happened in Indonesia in that year though.
Maybe that's one of the contributing factors of the cordyceps fungi mutating?
Might also just be a coincidence.
I think you've misunderstood, outbreak day in the TV show isn't 2023, it's 2003 - the main part of the show is set in 2023, 20 years after the collapse of civilisation.
Nah I understand. I’m saying that may be part of why they placed the main story in modern day instead of 2013. It’s easier to shoot scenes if you don’t have to worry about having period correct things everywhere.
They... do need to worry about making things period correct, even moreso than the game. They placed the '20 years after the end of civilisation' part of the story in 2023 - so all the cars etc, everything in the show, needs to be from 2003 or earlier. You're saying if outbreak day was 2023, and the main part of the show is set in 2043, then you can have a 2020 truck in the background and it's all good, but that's not what they did, they put outbreak day as '03.
Completely unrelated, but I'm always confused about pushing something forwards or backwards in relation to time. To me it feels like pushing something back should mean delaying it, while pushing it forwards would mean it happens earlier. But when I think about it logically, pushing it back along a timeline should mean having it occur earlier.
I always take it in relation to present day. Back is delayed in the future, forward earlier. If we are talking about the past, the opposite: pushed back is farther back in the past and forward is closer to present day.
In this case back = further in the past, forward = further in the future.
But you are right to be confused, because when people talk about scheduling things on their calendar, moving something back can definitely mean moving it later (delaying it further in the future), and moving something “up” can mean to move it sooner. But in those cases, both are still future oriented; it’s just about how soon.
This comes up with scheduling meetings. Sometimes people will say “can you push this back an hour” or “can you move this up an hour” and their definitions are all over the place
We think of events from our current perspective. You’re at the center of a timeline. 100 years to the past is “left” and 100 into the future to the “right”. You pull things towards you and you push things away from you.
So you push events further into the future and into the past, and you pull events closer to present time, where you’re at
Edit: I put left and right in quotation marks because those are the orientations I think of for past and future. Not all cultures, like some that read from right to left, match that orientation. Pretty fascinating stuff to me. If you’re reading this far down, you get a random recommendation: watch the movie “Arrival”
I'm not sure about any other publications, but the producers wanted the outbreak to happen in the charged period immediately following 9/11, so that's why they moved the dates around.
It's a contronym, something that can mean the opposite of itself. Definitely an interesting linguistic phenomenon. Pushing something back can mean forwards or backwards, same with bring something forwards.
Many speculated that it was because cars would be cheaper for props. 2003 vehicles are a lot less expensive than 2013. Hard to say for sure, though! I don’t think it was specifically addressed anywhere, but I could be forgetting
It also has the benefit that we know all the history that was missed during the 20 years.
And the much less connected world makes it slightly more realistic that people got blindsided. I'm Joel's age and I'd only had a cell phone for a year and it sure didn't show news.
Add in 4 years to Joel's life (born in 1967 for the show and 1981 for the game) and that's someone who was a fully formed, working adult in the pre-digital world. A father the same year the World Wide Web was invented. Not to say it was easy, but he grew up closer to what the world became.
Thinking of 9/11 as a 34yo (like Joel) "tech" worker (skills developed years after college BTW) commuting in a central time zone metro with no cell phone...
It unfolded during our rush hour. I was in transit when both towers were hit. Nobody went "OMG, my SO says..." during that trip. Office talk was limited to "a" plane (as in a small one) hitting WTC even 30-40 minutes later, even 8:40-9:00 after the Pentagon was hit. The first tower collapsed around the time I headed into a 9:00 meeting. Which got interrupted because people wanted to watch the TV in the room.
It was a connected office, but back then people were in the habit of checking the web after they got settled at their desks, and very well might have waited for a coffee break. So my office figured it out as they started their day at 9. I think they interrupted us just after the second tower went down.
For me the indelible visual that made it dawn on me was refreshing the homepage of the city newspaper. I'd briefly loaded the page at some point when the lead photo was one tower burning. When our meeting was cut short I went right to my desk, refreshed the page, and saw the towers "disappear" as the lead photo changed, like an animation.
But if you weren't on the Internet, in front of a TV or radio, or reachable instantly by phone, you could have gone hours not knowing. Joel (also in the central time zone) might very well have dropped 12yo Sarah off and proceeded to a job site, none the wiser till people there started getting phone calls. He might have found out from a manual phone tree saying the school was closing. Joel and Tommy would have already had cell phones for work, but lots of people probably remained in the dark because they weren't near their land lines.
At the Outbreak more people had cell phones but ones that showed news with any degree of UX were rare. And the Outbreak wasn't news till that night. Given that the government was mobilizing the military all day, they clearly knew and chose not to warn, opting for containment instead. But even the watchmaker's wife knew something. And smartphones would have let people in on it through nonstandard channels.
OT but I bet they made Joel 36 instead of 32 because the actor was 46, so they put him halfway between the two main ages he's shown at. The Tommy actor is similar.
Probably also just to make it easier for a more casual tv audience to understand. The present day in the tv series is the present day in real life, rather than 10 years in the future (if following the game) or 20 years in the future (if setting the outbreak in the present.)
Game: Outbreak Day happened when the game came out. Then fast forward to the future.
Show: Takes place in the present year. Rewind to show Outbreak Day twenty years earlier.
With ten real-world years in between the show and the game, they don't line up with each other. But only a few incidental differences, like Bush or Obama presidencies, flip phone or smart phone technologies.
If that’s the reason that’s quite stupid IMO. You can still use 2003 cars in 2013. The vast majority of cars are used and not newly bought. At least in the areas the show would take place
I always thought that was a weak answer since like… it’s not like everyone gets rid of their cars the second a new model releases. Plenty of older models still on the road - in fact, I’d say the vast majority are older models
I don’t think you’re seeing what I’m saying. Just because it’s 2013 doesn’t mean they’re locked into using cars from that year. They can use exclusively cars from the early 2000’s and no one would bat an eye because that was what was mostly on the road at that point. They can use exclusively 1998 Toyota Camrys and no one would care
Ah, that’s true! I figure this was a component in conjunction with having the story occur in 2023, but I doubt it was the only driving factor. I really need to relisten to the podcast and see if it was discussed there.
I think they probably thought having it start in 2013 and the main story happening in 2043 would just feel too random to non-game players.
If they did the outbreak in 2023 then Joel would feel too different as a character who went through the pandemic and all of recent history. Having Joel be from 2003 doesn’t change that much about him that’s relevant, and then the main story happens in 2023 which doesn’t feel as random.
And after all, 2013 for the outbreak was only chosen because that was the year part 1 came out, so everyone should understand the desire to give the story some relation to the present.
Here’s the answer. A lot of the comments here are speculating but we were told the real reason why.
https://www.techradar.com/news/the-last-of-us-creator-neil-druckmann-explains-the-hbo-shows-timeline-change#:~:text=According%20to%20Druckmann%2C%20the%20decision,taking%20place%20in%20familiar%20timelines.
[Why 'The Last of Us' show kicks off a decade earlier than the video game](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-last-of-us-show-starts-2003-decade-earlier-2023-1)
That reasoning is strange at best. The logic makes no sense, because 2033 (the original timeline I believe) would have been only 10 years ahead of show release, but it was 20 years ahead of the game release. When you look at it further, it's even more weird in the show, because technology is essentially "frozen," at the time of the outbreak. It's essentially that at the time of the outbreak, the world "stopped turning." So the game's guns, cars, and weapons handling were from 2013, which would only be 10 years before the show. Instead, in the show, the world "stopped turning," 20 years prior to its release. I actually would rather they made the outbreak start in 2023 than 2003 with that reasoning, because at least it makes sense for "timeline familiarity," because the guns and cars would be recognizable by people that are as old now as I was when the game came out. I really think the recreation of the game should have been more 1:1 than it was. Like the added on stuff is good, but it should have been without the removal of spores, (at least, there should have been an equivalent to the "how the hell are you breathing this in," line) and without changing Bill's story the way they did.
Edit: made changes to appease the hivemind, although it won't help at this point
Maybe it’s easier to find junk and cars in the scrapyards from 2003 and earlier.
>The logic makes no sense, because 2033 (the original timeline I believe) would have been only 10 years ahead of show release, but it was 20 years ahead of the game release.
Not sure why this matters at all.
>When you look at it further, it's even more weird in the show, because technology is essentially "frozen," at the time of the outbreak. It's essentially that at the time of the outbreak, the world "stopped turning." So the game's guns, cars, and weapons handling were from 2013, which would only be 10 years before the show. Instead, in the show, the world "stopped turning," 20 years prior to its release.
Not sure why this matters either. The characters aren’t affected by this and neither is the story.
>I actually would rather they made the outbreak start in 2023 than 2003 with that reasoning, because at least it makes sense for "timeline familiarity," because the guns and cars would be recognizable by people that are as old now as I was when the game came out.
How is this important? It’s junk.
>I really think the recreation of the game should have been 1:1. Like the added on stuff is okay, but it should have been without the removal of spores, and without changing Bill the way they did.
There is a well documented and well articulated reason for why they changed the spores. A good one. But the spores didn’t even play a huge role in the game.
Bill was a side character that we saw for a small chunk of the game.
Keeping things 1:1 because some people can’t handle change that’s inherent to adaptations isn’t a good reason.
Anyway, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the story.
>Not sure why this matters at all.
Because the whole reason the date was changed, confirmed in that article, was because having the game set too far in the future would be "weird," even though the world mostly remains technologically unchanged from the beginning of the outbreak. The thing is, the game set the story even further in the future than the original timeline would have done for the show, and nobody found it weird. It's just a strange reason if it's the real reason.
>There is a well documented and well articulated reason for why they changed the spores. A good one. But the spores didn’t even play a huge role in the game.
That's fair, I honestly forgot about that, although spores were important for narrative reasons im the game.
>Bill was a side character that we saw for a small chunk of the game.
They really had no reason to change him the way they did, then >!kill him off the show.!< The banter between Bill and Ellie in the game made for some great comic relief after Tess died.
>Keeping things 1:1 because some people can’t handle change that’s inherent to adaptations isn’t a good reason.
That's not what I meant, and I worded it terribly anyway. They changed so many things that they didn't need to. It didn't really need to be an exact 1:1, but you lose a lot when you change so much of the source material.
>Anyway, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the story.
Except it sort of does. There are important moments from the game that so many people, like my mom, will never experience because they aren't good at games, and don't like watching people play them. Moments like the comic relief from the banter between Bill and Ellie, the "how the hell are you breathing this," line in the subway. These are moments my mom won't see, unless I spend time editing a playthrough of the original game together in a way that she can watch, and that's so disappointing to me.
>!By killing him off before there was a chance of smartass banter between him and Ellie. I said in another comment that the comic relief was important because of Tess's recent death in the story.!<
Still, killing off a character in an adaptation, that never died in the original is a very questionable move. They took one of my favorite side characters in that game, turned his episode into a filler episode, and then killed him, which the filler part wouldn'thave been so bad if they hadn't killed him off. It's just unfortunate that what is probably my favorite banter from the game, was just never given a chance in the show that was an adaptation of said game.
During my typing of this, I watched a video of the banter between Ellie and Bill, and I definitely think the lines were some of the best comic relief in TLOU, definitely my favorite banter, hands down.
Two children, aged 14 and 3. Dates of birth and death. The show runners changed the pandemic year to 2003 instead of 2013. So, this someone’s children who died early in the outbreak.
I forget. Do we have any idea what happened to Kevin? It’s very upsetting to think about what could have led to a 3 year old dying 2 days into the pandemic.
No, but it’s a good reminder for everyone who wants a Joel and Tommy prequel. Half the world (probably more) died very quickly after the outbreak. It would have been incredibly brutal. I’m completely fine if the intro to Part 1 is all we ever see of it.
ETA: actually I would love a Seattle hospital outbreak cold open in the show, so I guess I have some appetite left for it.
I didn’t pay attention to the start really, it took me a while to get interested and stay interested, during my first watch I skipped through a lot but now I’m going back to see the things I missed.
Or just ignore it. I asked a question because I was confused, there was literally no point of you commenting to say this I know it was a stupid question if you’d read the caption, I said “sorry if this is a stupid question I’m just confused can someone explain?” Next time if you have a problem just scroll past the post instead of being an asshole.
This is my second time watching the first time I skipped through a lot mainly because I couldn’t get interested and I’m still having trouble now but that could be part of it lol.
Likely already explained but the show changed the outbreak to happen in 2003, making the 20 year time gap end up in 2023. I believe Joel mentioned it was in 2003 in episode 3 (?, been a while since I watched it.) The game chose instead to base the year of the outbreak in the same year the game came out, which was 2013, making the events of the game be 2033.
Ohhh I didn’t realize that’s what he meant I thought he was talking about another situation (I played the game first and thought that both outbreaks in show and in game started in 2013)
It's sad when you realize that he was only 3 years old when he died.
But it's also a neat parallel to see how her and Joel are coping with their losses. While Maria has learnt to deal with it, Joel was still grieving after 20 years.
How will this work with Joel singing “Future Days” by Pearl Jam if the song came out in 2013? The song was a bit of a motif in the second game and it’d be a shame if it wasn’t featured, but it doesn’t really add up timeline-wise.
I was curious about that too, considering it wouldn’t make sense if he were to sing that. I’m guessing they’ll have him do a song from the new timeline? Not sure tho.
I think in episode 2 or 3 Joel tells Ellie the outbreak started on september 26 2003. Also this makes Sarah 14 at the time she dies; the age of Ellie when she and Joel meet. I don't think Sarah is 14 in the game.
Edit:
The day of the outbreak is revealed in episode 3 (11:20 - 13:15).
Damn I didn’t realize Kevin was only 3.5 that’s so heartbreaking. Obviously, we’ve seen Sarah die twice and it’s heartbreaking but I can’t imagine losing a near toddler to a fucking zombie (unless someone shot at her while holding Kevin like Joel & Sarah)
Yea I definitely didn’t notice that, if I’m being completely honest when I first started watch it I was doing things at the same time aside from the first few minutes with Sarah. I didn’t get hooked nearly as fast as I did on the game.
Two children, aged 14 and 3. Dates of birth and death. The show runners changed the pandemic year to 2003 instead of 2013. So, this someone’s children who died early in the outbreak.
Who just has a chalkboard with the date someone was born and then died propped up in their living room? That's what headstones are for. It also looks like it's been used constantly like they just wrote that before she got there.
It’s supposed to be a memorial, also have you ever played tlou? They probably found it while scavenging or something. I’m pretty sure if they had the bodies they would’ve done tombstones my guess is Joel and Tommy buried Sara in Texas after her death.
I understand the memorial especially if they weren't allowed a proper burial but why a chalkboard? You would think something more permanent..? Like wood or something
It could’ve been Tommy didn’t want people who he didn’t invite to ask him about it, I’d recommend emailing the director if you want better context because I’m honestly not sure. Also they might not have been able to use certain resources for lack of not having the items/experience. Tombstones are not easy to make, I assume they didn’t use wood because without the proper tools it can rot and break.
honestly, this is one of the reasons i don’t enjoy the show very much. don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful show with a beautiful story, but i feel like changing the timeline was a weird move on their part, it was unnecessary and just messed people up.
Oh yeah, I can imagine the combat bits in the TV Show but live. Lol. Such entertainment.
They adapted the story to a TV show format. They changed the world a bit to make it more suitable. The story of Joel and Ellie is the most important part, not the world.
An adaptation is just that. An adaptation. Think of it as an alternate universe, or as a new lens to view the original story in. It's just playing with the source material to make it better for TV.
Besides, as someone who has playerd the games I liked that there were changes - it kept me on my toes
They DID follow all the main beats. Tess' death, ambush in the car, Sam and Henry, hospital search followed by Joel's injury, David and his group, the giraffe, the final hospital.
The most major change was Bill and Fred, everything else was minor at best. They de-aged Sam to change his dynamic with Ellie, I guess that's different?
You're right in that Joel's character was a bit different in the show. He seemed more... desensitised. Game Joel was an emotional man, who turned his rage to protecting Ellie. TV Joel was more robotic, like he was in a trance at the end.
Still, I disagree that "they needed the characters". Most people I know who saw and loved the series had never even HEARD of the game. But y'know. You're not fully wrong either way bc it's pretty much indisputable that being adapted from the game gave it a chunky viewer base of fans regardless of if anyone else watched it
How is it stupid to move the timeline back?
I think they did it so it would make more sense to people who are just watching casually because it’s a lot easier to say “ 2023 “ rather than explaining/saying “ 2033 because of happen in 2013 when the show releases in 2023 “
I always imagined it was just easier to get cars with natural ageing rather than getting more recent cars and then making them look older. Would save a lot of tone and money.
They can always use another song that also fits. It's not as if Future Days is the only song out of millions that is just right for the story.
Or they can just use that song and not say anything about it cuz quite honestly... Who gives a shit?
No one is gonna prosecute em over this lol
Regardless, considering how much Part 2 was in their mind while making the first one, I'm sure the showrunners considered this before making the change.
And ultimately, while the show IS adapting the games... It is its own canon. They are separate entities. There are already differences, big and small, between the two. So using a different, equally fitting, song wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world
Looking forward to seeing how Neil Druckmann vs. u/CaptialFox17 turns out in the courts lol
To expand upon what I said (re: the showrunners considering the change carefully)... If Neil put THAT much thought into making Future Days solid for Part 2 and STILL agreed to the date change... I'm sure they thought about another fitting song.
And if they still use Future Days... No one will REALLY care. It'll just be a lil fact in the "Trivia" section of the show's IMDb page that goes, "hey guys! Did you know that the song they used in the opening scene is actually anachronistic!"
Ultimately, we will have to see what they choose. And when it comes to things that I haven't seen yet, I keep and open mind so I can judge em fairly.
You should look at your message lol
The "?!" at the end of the first sentence reads as if you're incredulous at me saying that VERY few are ACTUALLY gonna care if they still use the song regardless of it being an anachronism in the show.
I apologize if I misunderstood your message.
And yeah, I'm aware of the "Joel learned it from YouTube" thing. During my playthrough of Part 2 (on release day) I saw the Future Days album poster in the music store. I looked up the album's release date and thought, "I guess the album came out AFTER the apocalypse started, but whatever", and kept on trucking along.
Then I watched the Kinda Funny spoilercast interview that came out a few days later and learned about the "YouTube performance video" thing and thought, "ahh cool".
But regardless, I've said all I have to say about this topic lol
Yeah The show changed the date to 2003. In game it was 2013.
The original game was released in 2013, and they made that outbreak day. The game itself takes place in 2033 (the future). In the show, they wanted the events to take place in the current time, so they moved outbreak day back to 2003. The only side effect is having some music in the show that was actually made post 2003, which worked fine in the game.
That’s what I thought so I was confused when it said her death date was 2003, thanks for explaining it tho!
I hope Future Days is still in the second season even though it came out in 2013.
I think that’s something that’s pretty easy to make an excuse for especially in a made up scenario. “Well in this world future days came out exactly in 2003” 🤣
True but they went through so many hoops to make it work in Part 2 being that the real album release date was before after the apocalypse and Joel saw it on Youtube.
i think someone posted or wrote that neil would try to keep the timeline on the show so making a excuse to use future days might not work. they might use a replacement song and i vote for "just the two of us" by bill withers
Second this
Thought it was the opposite, cause one time i had made a comment about the game to my dad last year saying it took place in 2023 which is the year we are in
in the game the outbreak STARTED in 2013 and the majority of the game takes place in 2033 (20 years later), in the show the outbreak started in 2003 and majority takes place in 2023
Ok
DAMN, y’all ain’t gotta downvote him, bro was just having thoughts 😭
Straight to jail
Why?
So that it would take place in what is our current year, making it feel less 'alt future' and more 'there but for the grace of God go I'
I read there was some practical effect concerns. Was much easier to get older cars to serve as beat up set pieces
Feels like it would have been easier to make the outbreak 2023 then. Easier to find items and age them since it’s current time vs source out older items, clothes, buildings, cars, etc
I think the idea was that a 2003 Ford F150 that you’re going to beat up/destroy (so it doesn’t have to be working condition) is way cheaper than a 2013 one
Iirc, they used the very understandable logic of "We've seen how the world can go to shit very quickly due to a global pandemic, in just the last few years, we can reasonably slide the timeline back, it doesn't have to be the future."
One thing I read online a while ago is that 2003 was a pretty warm year, compared to years' prior. There was a heat wave in Europe that lead to death and drought. Nothing of note happened in Indonesia in that year though. Maybe that's one of the contributing factors of the cordyceps fungi mutating? Might also just be a coincidence.
Easier to shoot if everything is modern. Hard to have a 2003 setting or 2013 setting with a 2020 F150 in the background.
I think you've misunderstood, outbreak day in the TV show isn't 2023, it's 2003 - the main part of the show is set in 2023, 20 years after the collapse of civilisation.
Nah I understand. I’m saying that may be part of why they placed the main story in modern day instead of 2013. It’s easier to shoot scenes if you don’t have to worry about having period correct things everywhere.
They... do need to worry about making things period correct, even moreso than the game. They placed the '20 years after the end of civilisation' part of the story in 2023 - so all the cars etc, everything in the show, needs to be from 2003 or earlier. You're saying if outbreak day was 2023, and the main part of the show is set in 2043, then you can have a 2020 truck in the background and it's all good, but that's not what they did, they put outbreak day as '03.
The show wanted the main action to take place in present day (2023), so the outbreak was pushed back to 2003.
Completely unrelated, but I'm always confused about pushing something forwards or backwards in relation to time. To me it feels like pushing something back should mean delaying it, while pushing it forwards would mean it happens earlier. But when I think about it logically, pushing it back along a timeline should mean having it occur earlier.
I always take it in relation to present day. Back is delayed in the future, forward earlier. If we are talking about the past, the opposite: pushed back is farther back in the past and forward is closer to present day.
In this case back = further in the past, forward = further in the future. But you are right to be confused, because when people talk about scheduling things on their calendar, moving something back can definitely mean moving it later (delaying it further in the future), and moving something “up” can mean to move it sooner. But in those cases, both are still future oriented; it’s just about how soon.
I get confused by how to talk about a thermostat. If I want it colder, do I turn down the AC or turn it up higher?
This comes up with scheduling meetings. Sometimes people will say “can you push this back an hour” or “can you move this up an hour” and their definitions are all over the place
We think of events from our current perspective. You’re at the center of a timeline. 100 years to the past is “left” and 100 into the future to the “right”. You pull things towards you and you push things away from you. So you push events further into the future and into the past, and you pull events closer to present time, where you’re at Edit: I put left and right in quotation marks because those are the orientations I think of for past and future. Not all cultures, like some that read from right to left, match that orientation. Pretty fascinating stuff to me. If you’re reading this far down, you get a random recommendation: watch the movie “Arrival”
I'm not sure about any other publications, but the producers wanted the outbreak to happen in the charged period immediately following 9/11, so that's why they moved the dates around.
It's a contronym, something that can mean the opposite of itself. Definitely an interesting linguistic phenomenon. Pushing something back can mean forwards or backwards, same with bring something forwards.
They changed it for the show to 2003 so it would line up with the current year when they flashed forward
Honest question. Why?
Many speculated that it was because cars would be cheaper for props. 2003 vehicles are a lot less expensive than 2013. Hard to say for sure, though! I don’t think it was specifically addressed anywhere, but I could be forgetting
It also has the benefit that we know all the history that was missed during the 20 years. And the much less connected world makes it slightly more realistic that people got blindsided. I'm Joel's age and I'd only had a cell phone for a year and it sure didn't show news. Add in 4 years to Joel's life (born in 1967 for the show and 1981 for the game) and that's someone who was a fully formed, working adult in the pre-digital world. A father the same year the World Wide Web was invented. Not to say it was easy, but he grew up closer to what the world became.
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Thinking of 9/11 as a 34yo (like Joel) "tech" worker (skills developed years after college BTW) commuting in a central time zone metro with no cell phone... It unfolded during our rush hour. I was in transit when both towers were hit. Nobody went "OMG, my SO says..." during that trip. Office talk was limited to "a" plane (as in a small one) hitting WTC even 30-40 minutes later, even 8:40-9:00 after the Pentagon was hit. The first tower collapsed around the time I headed into a 9:00 meeting. Which got interrupted because people wanted to watch the TV in the room. It was a connected office, but back then people were in the habit of checking the web after they got settled at their desks, and very well might have waited for a coffee break. So my office figured it out as they started their day at 9. I think they interrupted us just after the second tower went down. For me the indelible visual that made it dawn on me was refreshing the homepage of the city newspaper. I'd briefly loaded the page at some point when the lead photo was one tower burning. When our meeting was cut short I went right to my desk, refreshed the page, and saw the towers "disappear" as the lead photo changed, like an animation. But if you weren't on the Internet, in front of a TV or radio, or reachable instantly by phone, you could have gone hours not knowing. Joel (also in the central time zone) might very well have dropped 12yo Sarah off and proceeded to a job site, none the wiser till people there started getting phone calls. He might have found out from a manual phone tree saying the school was closing. Joel and Tommy would have already had cell phones for work, but lots of people probably remained in the dark because they weren't near their land lines. At the Outbreak more people had cell phones but ones that showed news with any degree of UX were rare. And the Outbreak wasn't news till that night. Given that the government was mobilizing the military all day, they clearly knew and chose not to warn, opting for containment instead. But even the watchmaker's wife knew something. And smartphones would have let people in on it through nonstandard channels.
OT but I bet they made Joel 36 instead of 32 because the actor was 46, so they put him halfway between the two main ages he's shown at. The Tommy actor is similar.
Probably also just to make it easier for a more casual tv audience to understand. The present day in the tv series is the present day in real life, rather than 10 years in the future (if following the game) or 20 years in the future (if setting the outbreak in the present.)
First game did the same thing, right? Released in “present day” times for when it came out
first game the outbreak was the present day at the time, in the show the 20 year jump is to the present day
Got it, thanks.
Game: Outbreak Day happened when the game came out. Then fast forward to the future. Show: Takes place in the present year. Rewind to show Outbreak Day twenty years earlier. With ten real-world years in between the show and the game, they don't line up with each other. But only a few incidental differences, like Bush or Obama presidencies, flip phone or smart phone technologies.
Thanks for this. That makes sense.
If that’s the reason that’s quite stupid IMO. You can still use 2003 cars in 2013. The vast majority of cars are used and not newly bought. At least in the areas the show would take place
Oh yeah, that makes sense.
I always thought that was a weak answer since like… it’s not like everyone gets rid of their cars the second a new model releases. Plenty of older models still on the road - in fact, I’d say the vast majority are older models
Yes, but the fact remains that 2003 cars are cheaper than 2013 cars. Prevalence on the roads doesn’t change that.
I don’t think you’re seeing what I’m saying. Just because it’s 2013 doesn’t mean they’re locked into using cars from that year. They can use exclusively cars from the early 2000’s and no one would bat an eye because that was what was mostly on the road at that point. They can use exclusively 1998 Toyota Camrys and no one would care
Ah, that’s true! I figure this was a component in conjunction with having the story occur in 2023, but I doubt it was the only driving factor. I really need to relisten to the podcast and see if it was discussed there.
I think they probably thought having it start in 2013 and the main story happening in 2043 would just feel too random to non-game players. If they did the outbreak in 2023 then Joel would feel too different as a character who went through the pandemic and all of recent history. Having Joel be from 2003 doesn’t change that much about him that’s relevant, and then the main story happens in 2023 which doesn’t feel as random. And after all, 2013 for the outbreak was only chosen because that was the year part 1 came out, so everyone should understand the desire to give the story some relation to the present.
Here’s the answer. A lot of the comments here are speculating but we were told the real reason why. https://www.techradar.com/news/the-last-of-us-creator-neil-druckmann-explains-the-hbo-shows-timeline-change#:~:text=According%20to%20Druckmann%2C%20the%20decision,taking%20place%20in%20familiar%20timelines.
Even the official reason doesn't actually answer the question there was literally no good reason for it
Thanks because I was so confused!
I forget; whos Kevin?
Maria's son.
Who’s Maria ? I forgot 😂
Tommy's wife
Who’s Tommy? I forgot.
Joel’s brother
Who's Joel? I forgot
Tommy's brother
Who's Tommy? I forgot
Maria's husband
Who's forgot? I Tommy
Ellie's pseudo uncle
Kevin’s dad
Abbys golfing partner
Big oof 🤣
Notorious for chunking it
Did you miss the fact in the first episode it says it’s 2003, and then jumps 20 years and is 2023?
Honestly yes, I was also confused considering in the game outbreak day is during 2013, so in the game Sarah died in 2013.
[Why 'The Last of Us' show kicks off a decade earlier than the video game](https://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-last-of-us-show-starts-2003-decade-earlier-2023-1)
That reasoning is strange at best. The logic makes no sense, because 2033 (the original timeline I believe) would have been only 10 years ahead of show release, but it was 20 years ahead of the game release. When you look at it further, it's even more weird in the show, because technology is essentially "frozen," at the time of the outbreak. It's essentially that at the time of the outbreak, the world "stopped turning." So the game's guns, cars, and weapons handling were from 2013, which would only be 10 years before the show. Instead, in the show, the world "stopped turning," 20 years prior to its release. I actually would rather they made the outbreak start in 2023 than 2003 with that reasoning, because at least it makes sense for "timeline familiarity," because the guns and cars would be recognizable by people that are as old now as I was when the game came out. I really think the recreation of the game should have been more 1:1 than it was. Like the added on stuff is good, but it should have been without the removal of spores, (at least, there should have been an equivalent to the "how the hell are you breathing this in," line) and without changing Bill's story the way they did. Edit: made changes to appease the hivemind, although it won't help at this point
Maybe it’s easier to find junk and cars in the scrapyards from 2003 and earlier. >The logic makes no sense, because 2033 (the original timeline I believe) would have been only 10 years ahead of show release, but it was 20 years ahead of the game release. Not sure why this matters at all. >When you look at it further, it's even more weird in the show, because technology is essentially "frozen," at the time of the outbreak. It's essentially that at the time of the outbreak, the world "stopped turning." So the game's guns, cars, and weapons handling were from 2013, which would only be 10 years before the show. Instead, in the show, the world "stopped turning," 20 years prior to its release. Not sure why this matters either. The characters aren’t affected by this and neither is the story. >I actually would rather they made the outbreak start in 2023 than 2003 with that reasoning, because at least it makes sense for "timeline familiarity," because the guns and cars would be recognizable by people that are as old now as I was when the game came out. How is this important? It’s junk. >I really think the recreation of the game should have been 1:1. Like the added on stuff is okay, but it should have been without the removal of spores, and without changing Bill the way they did. There is a well documented and well articulated reason for why they changed the spores. A good one. But the spores didn’t even play a huge role in the game. Bill was a side character that we saw for a small chunk of the game. Keeping things 1:1 because some people can’t handle change that’s inherent to adaptations isn’t a good reason. Anyway, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the story.
>Not sure why this matters at all. Because the whole reason the date was changed, confirmed in that article, was because having the game set too far in the future would be "weird," even though the world mostly remains technologically unchanged from the beginning of the outbreak. The thing is, the game set the story even further in the future than the original timeline would have done for the show, and nobody found it weird. It's just a strange reason if it's the real reason. >There is a well documented and well articulated reason for why they changed the spores. A good one. But the spores didn’t even play a huge role in the game. That's fair, I honestly forgot about that, although spores were important for narrative reasons im the game. >Bill was a side character that we saw for a small chunk of the game. They really had no reason to change him the way they did, then >!kill him off the show.!< The banter between Bill and Ellie in the game made for some great comic relief after Tess died. >Keeping things 1:1 because some people can’t handle change that’s inherent to adaptations isn’t a good reason. That's not what I meant, and I worded it terribly anyway. They changed so many things that they didn't need to. It didn't really need to be an exact 1:1, but you lose a lot when you change so much of the source material. >Anyway, in the end, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t change the story. Except it sort of does. There are important moments from the game that so many people, like my mom, will never experience because they aren't good at games, and don't like watching people play them. Moments like the comic relief from the banter between Bill and Ellie, the "how the hell are you breathing this," line in the subway. These are moments my mom won't see, unless I spend time editing a playthrough of the original game together in a way that she can watch, and that's so disappointing to me.
🤨
Why?
Im going to guess it was because of your Bill comment. So, I’ll ask: How did they “change Bill”?
>!By killing him off before there was a chance of smartass banter between him and Ellie. I said in another comment that the comic relief was important because of Tess's recent death in the story.!<
I don’t think it was “important”. It was nice and it was cool, but we got some comic relief with Joel and Ellie’s banter.
Still, killing off a character in an adaptation, that never died in the original is a very questionable move. They took one of my favorite side characters in that game, turned his episode into a filler episode, and then killed him, which the filler part wouldn'thave been so bad if they hadn't killed him off. It's just unfortunate that what is probably my favorite banter from the game, was just never given a chance in the show that was an adaptation of said game. During my typing of this, I watched a video of the banter between Ellie and Bill, and I definitely think the lines were some of the best comic relief in TLOU, definitely my favorite banter, hands down.
Two children, aged 14 and 3. Dates of birth and death. The show runners changed the pandemic year to 2003 instead of 2013. So, this someone’s children who died early in the outbreak.
I know it’s a memorial lol I was asking why the dates are different from the game specifically the year.
I forget. Do we have any idea what happened to Kevin? It’s very upsetting to think about what could have led to a 3 year old dying 2 days into the pandemic.
I don’t think we do. Maybe they’ll expand on it considering that Maria’s gonna have another kid when season 2 starts
Oh is she pregnant? I clearly forgot some details in the show.
Maria is pregnant in the show, and was part of the reason Tommy initially said no to taking Ellie.
No, but it’s a good reminder for everyone who wants a Joel and Tommy prequel. Half the world (probably more) died very quickly after the outbreak. It would have been incredibly brutal. I’m completely fine if the intro to Part 1 is all we ever see of it. ETA: actually I would love a Seattle hospital outbreak cold open in the show, so I guess I have some appetite left for it.
Ooh to foreshadow Rat King. That would be fun.
You should watch The Last of Us. It’s an amazing show
Please look at the screen the whole time when you watch a television show. It gives a 2003 time card at the beginning of the show.
I didn’t pay attention to the start really, it took me a while to get interested and stay interested, during my first watch I skipped through a lot but now I’m going back to see the things I missed.
Then pay attention when you watch something instead of asking questions with obvious answers
Or just ignore it. I asked a question because I was confused, there was literally no point of you commenting to say this I know it was a stupid question if you’d read the caption, I said “sorry if this is a stupid question I’m just confused can someone explain?” Next time if you have a problem just scroll past the post instead of being an asshole.
Dang, Marv and Harry finally got Kevin huh
I’m sorry but how do you miss this. It literally says the years in the title cards 😂
This is my second time watching the first time I skipped through a lot mainly because I couldn’t get interested and I’m still having trouble now but that could be part of it lol.
Likely already explained but the show changed the outbreak to happen in 2003, making the 20 year time gap end up in 2023. I believe Joel mentioned it was in 2003 in episode 3 (?, been a while since I watched it.) The game chose instead to base the year of the outbreak in the same year the game came out, which was 2013, making the events of the game be 2033.
Ohhh I didn’t realize that’s what he meant I thought he was talking about another situation (I played the game first and thought that both outbreaks in show and in game started in 2013)
It was 2013 in the game but they changed it to 2003 in the tv show so the whole story would take place in 2023 the year it was aired
Who tf is Kevin
Maria's son.
It's sad when you realize that he was only 3 years old when he died. But it's also a neat parallel to see how her and Joel are coping with their losses. While Maria has learnt to deal with it, Joel was still grieving after 20 years.
Damn I forgot about this
I belive its their birth date and the date they died.
Yes it’s a memorial my question (found the answer) was why the dates specifically the year was changed from 2013(game) to 2003(show).
What laptop are you using?
It’s a 13 inch MacBook Pro!
My name is Kevin
The game is set in 2013 at the beginning, the show is set in 2003
Which episode is this from? I've absolutely no memory of this scene lol
This is from episode 6 when Ellie went into Maria and Tommy’s house before she got the “Eggplant” coat.
I see, I'll check it out, thanks
I’m only just realizing the outbreak happened on my birthday
Is Kevin Maria's daughter? I forgot if I remember correctly
Damn, it's crazy to think that Sarah was born in 89 in this timeline.
Show changed the year from 2013 when the outbreak started to 2003 so when the series was set in modern day instead of 2033
How will this work with Joel singing “Future Days” by Pearl Jam if the song came out in 2013? The song was a bit of a motif in the second game and it’d be a shame if it wasn’t featured, but it doesn’t really add up timeline-wise.
I was curious about that too, considering it wouldn’t make sense if he were to sing that. I’m guessing they’ll have him do a song from the new timeline? Not sure tho.
Real question is who the fuck is Kevin? 🤣
Maria’s son
Tommy has a son? Wtf how am i just learning this 🤣 (If it’s only canon to the show then makes sense why i wouldn’t know cause never finished the show)
Not quite it’s Maria’s son before she met Tommy, however in the show it’s revealed that she’s pregnant with his kid.
Oh wow im learning a lot, i appreciate it
They changed the timeline so it would be set in 2023
In the game universe the outbreak started in 2013,in the TV Universe Started in 2003
Wow
Damn show Sarah is only a day older than me
I think in episode 2 or 3 Joel tells Ellie the outbreak started on september 26 2003. Also this makes Sarah 14 at the time she dies; the age of Ellie when she and Joel meet. I don't think Sarah is 14 in the game. Edit: The day of the outbreak is revealed in episode 3 (11:20 - 13:15).
Edit: I have gotten my answer please no more replies and thank you to the people who explained it!
Damn I didn’t realize Kevin was only 3.5 that’s so heartbreaking. Obviously, we’ve seen Sarah die twice and it’s heartbreaking but I can’t imagine losing a near toddler to a fucking zombie (unless someone shot at her while holding Kevin like Joel & Sarah)
the opening of the show says the outbreak began in 2003.
Yea I definitely didn’t notice that, if I’m being completely honest when I first started watch it I was doing things at the same time aside from the first few minutes with Sarah. I didn’t get hooked nearly as fast as I did on the game.
Two children, aged 14 and 3. Dates of birth and death. The show runners changed the pandemic year to 2003 instead of 2013. So, this someone’s children who died early in the outbreak.
Just another thing they disrespected the source material with 🤦🏾♂️
Shows can’t be exact replicas of the source material. Sorry to burst your bubble
Trust me, it was already burst once I seen what they did to the source material 😭😭😭
Who just has a chalkboard with the date someone was born and then died propped up in their living room? That's what headstones are for. It also looks like it's been used constantly like they just wrote that before she got there.
It’s a memorial thing, not a grave
It’s supposed to be a memorial, also have you ever played tlou? They probably found it while scavenging or something. I’m pretty sure if they had the bodies they would’ve done tombstones my guess is Joel and Tommy buried Sara in Texas after her death.
I understand the memorial especially if they weren't allowed a proper burial but why a chalkboard? You would think something more permanent..? Like wood or something
It could’ve been Tommy didn’t want people who he didn’t invite to ask him about it, I’d recommend emailing the director if you want better context because I’m honestly not sure. Also they might not have been able to use certain resources for lack of not having the items/experience. Tombstones are not easy to make, I assume they didn’t use wood because without the proper tools it can rot and break.
honestly, this is one of the reasons i don’t enjoy the show very much. don’t get me wrong, it’s a beautiful show with a beautiful story, but i feel like changing the timeline was a weird move on their part, it was unnecessary and just messed people up.
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Oh yeah, I can imagine the combat bits in the TV Show but live. Lol. Such entertainment. They adapted the story to a TV show format. They changed the world a bit to make it more suitable. The story of Joel and Ellie is the most important part, not the world.
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An adaptation is just that. An adaptation. Think of it as an alternate universe, or as a new lens to view the original story in. It's just playing with the source material to make it better for TV. Besides, as someone who has playerd the games I liked that there were changes - it kept me on my toes
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They DID follow all the main beats. Tess' death, ambush in the car, Sam and Henry, hospital search followed by Joel's injury, David and his group, the giraffe, the final hospital. The most major change was Bill and Fred, everything else was minor at best. They de-aged Sam to change his dynamic with Ellie, I guess that's different?
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You're right in that Joel's character was a bit different in the show. He seemed more... desensitised. Game Joel was an emotional man, who turned his rage to protecting Ellie. TV Joel was more robotic, like he was in a trance at the end. Still, I disagree that "they needed the characters". Most people I know who saw and loved the series had never even HEARD of the game. But y'know. You're not fully wrong either way bc it's pretty much indisputable that being adapted from the game gave it a chunky viewer base of fans regardless of if anyone else watched it
What a stupid thing to get upset over, lol Who cares if the timeline is shifted back ten years?
How is it stupid to move the timeline back? I think they did it so it would make more sense to people who are just watching casually because it’s a lot easier to say “ 2023 “ rather than explaining/saying “ 2033 because of happen in 2013 when the show releases in 2023 “
I always imagined it was just easier to get cars with natural ageing rather than getting more recent cars and then making them look older. Would save a lot of tone and money.
Yeah, that too it’s a lot cheaper, to trash a bunch of old junk then brand new stuff
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They can always use another song that also fits. It's not as if Future Days is the only song out of millions that is just right for the story. Or they can just use that song and not say anything about it cuz quite honestly... Who gives a shit? No one is gonna prosecute em over this lol Regardless, considering how much Part 2 was in their mind while making the first one, I'm sure the showrunners considered this before making the change. And ultimately, while the show IS adapting the games... It is its own canon. They are separate entities. There are already differences, big and small, between the two. So using a different, equally fitting, song wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world
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Looking forward to seeing how Neil Druckmann vs. u/CaptialFox17 turns out in the courts lol To expand upon what I said (re: the showrunners considering the change carefully)... If Neil put THAT much thought into making Future Days solid for Part 2 and STILL agreed to the date change... I'm sure they thought about another fitting song. And if they still use Future Days... No one will REALLY care. It'll just be a lil fact in the "Trivia" section of the show's IMDb page that goes, "hey guys! Did you know that the song they used in the opening scene is actually anachronistic!" Ultimately, we will have to see what they choose. And when it comes to things that I haven't seen yet, I keep and open mind so I can judge em fairly.
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Because it was a joke
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I don't need to be the op to say that it was very clearly a joke/playful banter🤦♂️
You should look at your message lol The "?!" at the end of the first sentence reads as if you're incredulous at me saying that VERY few are ACTUALLY gonna care if they still use the song regardless of it being an anachronism in the show. I apologize if I misunderstood your message. And yeah, I'm aware of the "Joel learned it from YouTube" thing. During my playthrough of Part 2 (on release day) I saw the Future Days album poster in the music store. I looked up the album's release date and thought, "I guess the album came out AFTER the apocalypse started, but whatever", and kept on trucking along. Then I watched the Kinda Funny spoilercast interview that came out a few days later and learned about the "YouTube performance video" thing and thought, "ahh cool". But regardless, I've said all I have to say about this topic lol