HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation of the 2013 Naughty Dog video game of the same name has been taking the world by storm, much like the fungus that causes the world-ending pandemic in the storyline.
While the three episodes that are out have been chilling enough for both the long-time fans of the game and the new, non-gamer viewers, what’s making them even scarier for some people is the fact that a similar real-world event has been occurring at the same time.
As you may have already heard, scary fungal infections are quickly spreading throughout the United States and The Last of Us fans have been taking to social media to express their concerns.
Is it possible that this is a fiction imitating life imitating fiction scenario?
Well, as per a new Wall Street Journal report, fungal infections have been on the rise in the last few years due to the growing temperatures on the planet.
The study mentioned that in 2021, over 7,000 people from the United States lost their lives as a result of fungal infections.
While it may not sound like such a scary number, when compared to the mere hundreds infected with fungi in 1970, it is still quite concerning.
The same article also pretty much confirmed that the show got it right that fungi may be adapting to survive climate change and therefore possibly also survive the high temperature of the human body.
One Twitter user reacted to the news, joking that this is “Very interesting and scary. this should be the plot of a tv show someday.”
“The Last Of Us isn’t a TV show. It’s a survival guide,” another fan posted.
A third user simply shared an image from the series’ intro scene in response to the real life fungus spreading through the United States.
welp https://t.co/VdgqomIlSr pic.twitter.com/bIt87Vrg1u
— Braddington (@bradwhipple) February 1, 2023
In the latest episode of the series adaptation, we find out that the fictional Cordyceps pandemic started when the fungus evolved to survive extreme temperatures and got into some brands of common food ingredients such as flour, sugar and pancake mix.
Just read the WSJ piece on the spread of dangerous fungi 🥴 pic.twitter.com/Z5Esk3l1xv
— High Yield Harry (@HighyieldHarry) February 1, 2023
This is how it was able to infect most of the planet in less than a full day, changing the world forever.
All in all, with everything that has been happening, and having now experienced a pandemic ourselves, it makes sense that so many people can’t help but imagine a realistic scenario where The Last of Us transforms from a fantasy, horror story into a documentary, capable of predicting the future.