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The Last Of Us 2 (Spoilers)

demetriosdemetrios Posts: 94,605
edited June 2020 in The Porch

The song "Future Days" will be featured in the sequel, and it was no small task to get the band to approve it.

By Eddie Makuch on June 9, 2020 at 4:52PM PDT


The Last of Us Part II features the Pearl Jam song "Future Days," but it wasn't easy to convince the band to allow Naughty Dog to use it in the post-apocalyptic game.

Writer-director Neil Druckmann told GQ that studio owner Sony didn't think they'd be able to get the rights to the tune from Pearl Jam's 2013 album Lightning Bolt. Eventually, the team found the assistant of Pearl Jam's manager and got the manager to consider it.

Druckmann pitched Pearl Jam's manager on the "whole story" of The Last of Us Part II and told him how the song is important to the narrative. Druckmann also confirmed that "Future Days" will be featured in the game "several times" as a sort of theme between Joel and Ellie.

Naughty Dog sent the manager a PS4 and copy of the original Last of Us to help demonstrate the studio's capabilities. They even showed the manager a trailer for The Last of Us Part II before Sony had seen it. The report said Druckmann was prepared to fly to Seattle to meet with frontman Eddie Vedder to try to convince him. That wasn't necessary in the end, as the band eventually approved it.

"Future Days" is one of Pearl Jam's softer and more emotional songs. The lyrics reference a deep connection with another person, not unlike the relationship between Joel and Ellie.

Pearl Jam songs have been used in movies and TV shows, but it appears this is the first time a Pearl Jam song will be used in a video game (apart from Rock Band and Guitar Hero).

The full GQ story is well worth a read, as it covers a number of other interesting and noteworthy topics like how the story for The Last of Us Part II was inspired in part by a lynching that Druckmann saw when he was younger. Druckmann also talks about how Naughty Dog might make The Last of Us Part III next, or something else entirely. Read the story here.

The Last of Us: Part II releases on June 19 for PS4. The game will also be playable on PlayStation 5 later this year, alongside thousands of other PS4 titles. Sony's PS5 event is scheduled for June 11.



Post edited by Sea on
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Comments

  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,046
    edited June 2020
    Of all the things to fight for in the world, they chose to fight for Future Days.

    Spoiler

    Cool to see Pearl Jam in the biggest game of the year!

    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • C2V3NC2V3N Zagreb, Croatia Posts: 449
     :o 
    this is big news
    one, two, three, four, five against one
    five, five, against one
  • mbowersmbowers Posts: 109
    This is actually a really big deal.  If you haven't listened to it, Gustavo Santolalla did the score for the first game and is back for the second and it is pretty much brilliant.  It's going to be really cool to hear his work together with Pearl Jam.
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    Wow. This is mega huge.  
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    This is a nice surprise. Almost like Jose Gonzalez being featured in Red Dead Redemption.  Sounds like this gets played throughout the game too.  For those unfamiliar this is probably the biggest release for this console-generation of video games. 

    From GQ Magazine


    To give the guitar connection that extra weight, Druckmann also managed to get Pearl Jam’s approval to use their ballad “Future Days” as a sort of theme between the two characters. It’s an ongoing callback to their relationship, but one that didn’t come easy. “Sony was like, ‘You’re probably not gonna get that song,’” he explains as we sit in the audio suite. So they set out a long-winded strategy to persuade the reticent band to say yes. The studio found their manager’s assistant. Eventually they got on to persuading the manager. This took place over several months. “I pitch him the whole story,” he continues, “and why this song is important and how it’s like you’ll hear this song several times throughout.” Naughty Dog sent him a PS4 and a copy of the original game – a confident push to prove the quality of the studio’s work. They then showed him a trailer for Part II, which even Sony hadn’t seen. It got to the point where Druckmann was ready to fly out to Seattle to speak directly to Eddie Vedder, desperate to “will this into existence” before word came in: “They went for it.”
  • KN219077KN219077 Montana Posts: 1,166
    WMA was used in Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer game as well
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,046
    cp3iverson said:
    To give the guitar connection that extra weight, Druckmann also managed to get Pearl Jam’s approval to use their ballad “Future Days” as a sort of theme between the two characters. It’s an ongoing callback to their relationship, but one that didn’t come easy. “Sony was like, ‘You’re probably not gonna get that song,’” he explains as we sit in the audio suite. So they set out a long-winded strategy to persuade the reticent band to say yes. The studio found their manager’s assistant. Eventually they got on to persuading the manager. This took place over several months. “I pitch him the whole story,” he continues, “and why this song is important and how it’s like you’ll hear this song several times throughout.” Naughty Dog sent him a PS4 and a copy of the original game – a confident push to prove the quality of the studio’s work. They then showed him a trailer for Part II, which even Sony hadn’t seen. It got to the point where Druckmann was ready to fly out to Seattle to speak directly to Eddie Vedder, desperate to “will this into existence” before word came in: “They went for it.”
    Hah. This reads like Naught Dog harassed them for several months, and in the end when they wouldn't go away and threatened to go to Seattle and bang at Eddies door he was like "just give them the song, just let us get rid of this shit" . Haha
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,046
    edited June 2020
    cp3iverson said:
     For those unfamiliar this is probably the biggest release for this console-generation of video games. 

    Spoiler

    :) 

    Post edited by Spiritual_Chaos on
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • Niko80Niko80 Posts: 1,610
    Cough Fortnite Cough
    I will swallow poison
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    Breath of the Wild didnt even come close to Red Dead 2! :sunglasses:
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    KN219077 said:
    WMA was used in Kelly Slater’s Pro Surfer game as well
    I forgot about that
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    I saw someone made a youtube video of it a few weeks ago. 
    I miss igotid88
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    This was from 2014 in a One Night Live in San Diego 


    "I started working on it... well, that's not important," hinting that he may have originally begun writing it for Sarah. Ellie sits in her swivel chair, drawing up one of her legs to her chest as Joel begins to play and sing select verses from "Future Days" by Pearl Jam."
    I miss igotid88
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    https://thelastofus.fandom.com/wiki/The_Last_of_Us:_One_Night_Live
    I miss igotid88
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    https://youtu.be/FXT_2v_abe0
    I miss igotid88
  • ZodZod Posts: 10,782
    cp3iverson said:
    Breath of the Wild didnt even come close to Red Dead 2! :sunglasses:
    That makes sense.  It would be hard for a game that only works on one console to beat out a big release that works on multiple platforms.

    I'm pretty stoked there's some PJ in Last of Us II. 
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    Breath of the Wild was multi platform too!  lol. 
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    I can’t edit posts anymore on phones/PC.   Breath of the Wild was out on Switch and Wii U.  

    Red Dead sold 12 million more copies than Breath of the Wild despite coming out a year a half later.  Man this is the nerdiest post ive made this year.  I might have to edit this one day if the site ever works correctly for me. 

    Definitely awesome that we’ll be hearing PJ In some quiet moments after taking out some infected humans.   Part 1 was great. 
  • kotton_crownkotton_crown Posts: 214
    Read Dead 1 > Read Dead 2
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    cp3iverson said:
    I can’t edit posts anymore on phones/PC.   Breath of the Wild was out on Switch and Wii U.  

    Red Dead sold 12 million more copies than Breath of the Wild despite coming out a year a half later.  Man this is the nerdiest post ive made this year.  I might have to edit this one day if the site ever works correctly for me. 

    Definitely awesome that we’ll be hearing PJ In some quiet moments after taking out some infected humans.   Part 1 was great. 
    I thought I was the only one who couldn't edit 
    I miss igotid88
  • drakeheuer14drakeheuer14 Posts: 4,521
    Niko80 said:
    Cough Fortnite Cough
    Apex > 
    Pittsburgh 2013
    Cincinnati 2014
    Greenville 2016
    (Raleigh 2016)
    Columbia 2016
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    kotton_crown said:
    Read Dead 1 > Read Dead 2
    Yes!
  • Spiritual_ChaosSpiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,046
    cp3iverson said:
    Breath of the Wild didnt even come close to Red Dead 2! :sunglasses:
    Imma let you finish, but Breath of the Wild was the most iconic release of this generation of all time. OF ALL TIME.
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    :lol:
  • demetriosdemetrios Posts: 94,605
    Can't wait to play this. Loved the first one. 
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    My only concern is if non fans will know who the song is by? If it helps Lightning Bolt 
    I miss igotid88
  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    Between The Last Dance and The Last of Us, it’s a great Spring season for unknown Pearl Jam songs. 
  • igotid88igotid88 Posts: 28,214
    edited June 2020
    cp3iverson said:
    Between The Last Dance and The Last of Us, it’s a great Spring season for unknown Pearl Jam songs. 
    Last is a connection. And The
    Post edited by igotid88 on
    I miss igotid88
  • demetriosdemetrios Posts: 94,605
    The Last of Us 2 Review [No Spoilers] https://gadgets.ndtv.com/games/reviews/last-of-us-2-review-release-date-spoilers-no-story-gameplay-ps4-2244555

  • cp3iversoncp3iverson Posts: 8,702
    10/10 on IGN
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