In a deep-dive conversation on Sony's official YouTube channel, Alex Garland, the screenwriter for the "28 Days Later" film series, sat down with "The Last of Us" game director Neil Druckmann. During the discussion, Garland unequivocally praised the classic Naughty Dog title, stating its script is even better than his own film.
Garland admitted that while writing the upcoming "28 Years Later," he was influenced by games, including "The Last of Us," and even referenced its narrative style to some extent during the creative process.
Garland revealed that his initial script idea for "28 Years Later" involved the virus from "28 Days Later" being weaponized and used against China, but director Danny Boyle wasn't interested. This prompted him to re-evaluate the core of the story.
"I was thinking, why doesn't he like it?" Garland recalled. "And then I realized, oh, it's because it's not very good. That's the problem. I get it. So I made it weirder and more specific, and I came up with a different story, which, to be honest, has a kind of connection with 'The Last of Us.'"
He added that the impact of "The Last of Us" was profound, even influencing his understanding of storytelling. Druckmann was pleasantly surprised by Garland's comments, explaining that he was inspired by "28 Days Later" when creating "The Last of Us," making Garland's praise a huge compliment.
"To hear you say that you were influenced by 'The Last of Us' is a massive compliment to me because I was influenced by you when I was writing it," Druckmann said.
However, Garland didn't hold back his admiration, stating bluntly: "'The Last of Us' is better than '28 Days Later.' 'The Last of Us' is better than '28 Days Later.' At least on a script level—I'm not gonna get into the directing, that would be insane, so let's park that."
He elaborated further: "I know what '28 Days Later' is, I know what I was doing, and I know that process. But with 'The Last of Us,' I was like, 'Jesus Christ, this is more layered, it's more profound.' It's moving. It's not to diminish '28 Days Later.' I'm still very proud of it, it was a beautiful part of my life. But seriously, 'The Last of Us' is on another level, so of course I'd be influenced by it."
'The Last of Us' Was Also Inspired by '28 Days Later'
Notably, Druckmann shared that the game's primary antagonist, David, was directly inspired by the third act of "28 Days Later."
"There's a clear line between the fast-moving infected of '28 Days Later' and the infected of 'The Last of Us,'" Druckmann explained. "They're sick, they're not undead, they move fast. The third act of '28 Days Later' carries through directly to 'The Last of Us.' Maybe it's that Einstein quote—'Creativity is knowing how to hide your sources.' But yeah, there's a direct link between the third act of '28 Days Later' and David in 'The Last of Us.'"
In fact, back in 2020 while Naughty Dog was promoting "The Last of Us Part II," creative director Neil Druckmann mentioned in an interview with Empire magazine that "28 Days Later" had a profound impact on the creation of "The Last of Us."
He stated that the film's focus on character and story development, rather than explaining the origins of the apocalyptic virus, served as a key reference for shaping the world of "The Last of Us." To this day, both works are considered iconic classics within the zombie genre.
While Druckmann will remain focused on the "The Last of Us" television series for the next few years—with the show almost certain to get at least one more season—he will also be dedicating his efforts to Naughty Dog's new game, "Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet." As for a third installment in "The Last of Us" game series, he remains cautious, stating there are no concrete plans and advising fans not to get their hopes up.