A new character (and side story)
Any good adaptation requires a change or two. Sometimes multiple characters are compressed into one. Flashbacks or montage sequences might summarize a more drawn-out aspect of an original text. It remains to be seen what adaptive techniques will bring The Last of Us to life, but at least one of them is a brand new character and storyline that starts out in Kansas City.
As seen for a brief moment in the HBO trailer, Melanie Lynskey will star as Kathleen who, as Polygon reports, is a ruthless revolutionary leader. Hopefully this will provide some nice elaboration on the main story. At best, this kind of adaptive inclusion can help reframe a familiar narrative. At worst, it’ll be like Master Chief taking his helmet off half the time (that actually was a good adaptive choice too, but I’ll stop).
