The Last of Us shoot was as 'extraordinary' as Lord of the Rings

HBO's adaptation of video game The Last of Us reminded actor Gabriel Luna of a little-known movie trilogy titled Lord of the Rings.

Several months since the post-apocalyptic show's first season finale aired, Luna, who popped up in two episodes as Joel Miller's brother Tommy, spoke to Metro about the endurance test that was filming.

"[Pedro Pascal's] endurance and Bella [Ramsey's] endurance should be applauded, along with our entire crew. It was daunting," he began.

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"The elements, the subject matter, shooting for a full calendar year. That was something pretty extraordinary. Rarely do you see projects of that scale – that's like some Lord of the Rings-type stuff."

Released between 2001 and 2003, director Peter Jackson's three Lord of the Rings classics (The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King) were shot back-to-back across New Zealand from October 1999 to December 2000.

Further along, the former Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D star also shared his thoughts on the highly-anticipated second season of The Last of Us, which is currently on ice as the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes continue.

"I think it's important for us to operate in the same way that we have [already]. We have to love it first, the way we did in that first season. And if we do that, and take great care, and commit to attention to detail in the way that we did, then one can only hope we will be able to maintain that quality.

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"We set a very high bar but we all are excited to clear it and raise it and continue to raise it," Luna added.

The Last of Us airs on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK.

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