The Last of Us series co-creator Craig Mazin suggests the show could explore the Seraphite Prophet in future seasons. The highly-anticipated video game adaptation had its HBO series premiere on January 15, setting the stage by introducing audiences to Pedro Pascal's Joel as he is tasked with smuggling Bella Ramsey's Ellie out of a quarantine zone. The strong series premiere has garnered universal acclaim as a faithful adaptation, which has fans excited for how The Last of Us TV show will continue expanding its universe with side stories and lore from the Naughty Dog video game series.
During a recent interview with Fuera de Foco, Mazin hints at one side story from the video games the HBO adaptation could explore – the Seraphite Prophet.
The Last of Us co-showrunner describes a character whose face is seen in the second game, and while Mazin doesn't mention her by name, it's been widely assumed he's very likely referring to the Seraphite Prophet. Read what Mazin says below:
I know people are really interested in what happened before Joel met Ellie. We have some exploration of that, in the years between when the pandemic started and the timeline of the game, but not necessarily with Joel. There's so many interesting side stories we could tell. There are characters that are only referred to, for instance, in the second game. One character in particular, you only see her face - images of her face, but I would love to find out what happened with her, that's an interesting story.
The Last of Us Seraphite Prophet Explained
In The Last of Us Part II video game, the Seraphite Prophet's face can be seen painted on murals throughout a post-apocalyptic Seattle. The murals, inscribed with the message "Feel Her Love," are spotted throughout the city by Ellie, and later, Abby as well. According to The Last of Us' lore, the Seraphite Prophet was a woman who supposedly had a vision of the Cordyceps brain infection outbreak, which inspired her to live an egalitarian life.
Because of her supposed premonition, the Seraphite Prophet became a messianic figure of sorts and garnered a stringent following known collectively as The Seraphites, who made shrines and carved out murals of her. Even after the Prophet's death, the Seraphites continued following her teachings. These cult-like followers play a crucial role in The Last of Us Part II video game, but most of the lore and other information about the group is revealed indirectly through non-playable characters and in-game artifacts and collectible items.
As Mazin mentions, the Seraphite Prophet would be a perfect side story from the games for the HBO adaptation to explore further. However, with The Last of Us season 1 adapting the first video game, the Seraphite Prophet (who isn't mentioned until The Last of Us Part II) likely won't be explored until The Last of Us season 2, which hasn't been officially ordered by HBO. Considering the show's strong premiere and rave reviews, a renewal already seems quite likely. Especially if the video game creator Neil Druckmann remains on board as a co-showrunner with Mazin, the adaptation should continue honoring the source material's various side stories and lore. The Last of Us airs new episodes every Sunday night on HBO.
Source: Fuera de Foco