The Last of Us composer narrowly avoided a 'terrible' mistake

The Last of Us composer, Gustavo Santaolalla, has shared that the show could have made a "terrible mistake" - but it was narrowly avoided.
For those yet to see the HBO drama series, it follows smuggler Joel and teenager Ellie as they travel across a post-apocalyptic world in search of a cure to an infection that caused the collapse of society. It's based on the popular video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog.
Avid gamers who have both played the game and watched the series will also know that the show remained loyal to the original source material. This was done through the game's director Neil Druckmann working closely with writers Craig Mazin and Halley Gross. Not to mention also using Santaolalla, who composed the music for the game and its TV adaptation.
In a new interview with Screen Rant, Santaolalla revealed that it was important for them to keep the main themes of the game, as well as transition the original "sonic fabric" into the show.
He said: "I think it was a great help to bridge this transition from one thing to the other. I think it would have been a terrible mistake to change that. The fact that we kept [the music] was a very good decision."
The composer then delved into the difference between writing for video games and television. He explained that he separates his work into two categories: art and craft. While the art "involves the creation of the themes, melodies, harmony" (aka the sonic fabric), the craft deals with making it all fit together.
Santaolalla also added that even though there is a lot of new music in the series, it doesn't feel like a leap away from the game.
"We have lots of new music too, but that music, in a way, is siblings with what I created before," he concluded.

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