The Last Of Us' Bloater Was Created In Part By Gollum Designer

gamespot.com:

As it turns out, HBO's The Last of Us TV series is connected--in a way--to the popular The Lord of the Rings series. The connection doesn't stem from an in-game Easter egg or anything like that. But it's come to light that one of the main designers of Gollum from The Lord of the Rings, Gino Acevedo, designed the Bloater from The Last of Us. This story contains spoilers for The Last of Us.

Speaking to Comicbook.com, Weta FX supervisor Simon Jung said Acevedo was «heavily involved» in bringing the Bloater to life. «He figured out all the proportions and some of the growths,» Jung said.

You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

Sign up or Sign in now!

By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

Now Playing: The Last of Us Finale Breakdown: The Great Joel Debate, Merle Dandridge Interview

Acevedo worked off reference materials from the video game and elements from the prosthetic suit that the actor who played the Bloater was wearing. Naughty Dog also shared previously unreleased concept art with Weta VFX, Jung said.

Weta animation supervisor Dennis Yoo said The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin is «such a fan» of The Lord of the Rings, so the connections to the fantasy series continue.

The Bloater was a combination of a human actor wearing a prosthetic suit and CG elements. Jung said the design is «haunting,» and indeed, fans agreed it was a majorly scary reveal when the creature emerged out of a hole in Episode 5.

The Bloater reveal was one of multiple major moments from Episode 5, which also saw an infected brutally killing the character Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey). Earlier in the episode, the tragic story of brothers