See The Real-Life Mushrooms That Inspired The Zombies in "The Last of Us"

Brain infecting cordyceps aren’t the only fungi that influenced creators of the HBO hit series By Don Steinberg Feb. 26, 2023 Tap story

The gruesome beasts in HBO’s TV series “The Last of Us” don’t look like your average neighborhood zombies. They are not undead nor infected with a virus. HBO

In one episode, a swarm of formerly human mutants emerge from a suburban crater with faces that seem to have burst outward into the kind of mushroomy blossoms you’d find under a log in the forest. HBO

Then comes a giant “bloater” covered head-to-toe with the kingdom of fungi. Across his grotesque torso are moist, rubbery pustules that look a bit like puffball mushrooms. HBO

His head growth resembles chicken-of-the-woods mushrooms, the type that look like wavy shelves on the side of a tree. Alamy

In the show, a mutant fungus enters the food supply, parasitically infiltrating humanity. Bella Ramsey in a recent episode. photo: HBO

Aside from growing inside its victims so they increasingly resemble fungus, the parasite turns people into mindless maniacs who spread the fungus by biting. HBO

This browser does not support the video element. “The Last of Us” enters the culture amid a continuing “shroom boom,” thanks to the documentary “Fantastic Fungi” and popular media such as Michael Pollan‘s book and TV series “How to Change Your Mind.” Scenes from "Fantastic Fungi." video: Area23a/Moving Art

Neil Druckmann, a writer and co-creator of the TV series and creator of the 2013 videogame it’s adapted from, studied some of nature’s weirdest organisms to develop monsters for the show. Kevin Hagen for WSJ

He says he was a zombie fan when he saw the documentary “Planet Earth” years ago. HBO

The documentary shows jungle ants whose brains have been addled by a real parasitic fungus called cordyceps that acts like a neurotransmitter inside them. Cordyceps growing out of an ant. photo: Jasper Nance/Flickr

The ants involuntarily climb and attach themselves to plants, where they die as the fungus sprouts from their heads. It essentially turns ants into zombies, using them as transportation vehicles.

“I was like, ‘this would be an amazing zombie origin story…I’m shocked no one has used it,’” Mr. Druckmann recalls. Cordyceps growing out of an insect. photo: AalterEgoo/Flickr

Cordyceps sprout as fingerlike tendrils, so those types of growths appear on many of the infected in "The Last of Us." HBO

Another characteristic of fungus is that it’s an underground network. Miles of interconnected mycelium lie in the soil beneath every step we take. Kevin Hagen for WSJ

This browser does not support the video element. As narrator of the 2019 documentary “Fantastic Fungi,” Brie Larson says: “You can’t see us, but we flourish all around you, in everything, even inside you.” A scene from "Fantastic Fungi." video: Area23a/Moving Art

The network effect influences how monsters swarm in “The Last of Us,” says Terry Notary, the show’s movement choreographer. "That to me felt scary," he says. Pedro Pascal in a recent episode. photo: HBO Read the Full Story

Produced by Leah Latella Cover image: HBO Read the full story: In ‘The Last of Us,’ Not Your ‘Stereotypical’ Zombies Read more : Why HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Broke Away From the Videogame It’s Based On