‘The Last of Us’ creators banned this word on the show’s set

This word is dead to them.

Creators of the hit HBO adaptation of “The Last of Us” are being called “pretentious” after banning the word “zombie” on the television show’s set, reported the Motion Picture Association site The Credits.

“We weren’t allowed to say the Z word on set,” said cinematographer Eben Bolter. “It was like a banned word. They were the ‘infected.’ We weren’t a zombie show.”

Based on a video game of the same name, “The Last of Us” takes place in a post-apocalyptic 2023 where many humans have been reduced to “zombie-like” creatures after an outbreak of a mutated cordyceps fungus in 2003.

“It’s not a cliché zombie movie, it’s not Hollywood backlit where everyone’s close-up is perfect,” Bolter explained. “It’s a world of organic cinematic naturalism, and that’s something I could just feel.”

Several viewers of the show have called the creators “pretentious” and “dramatic.”

“What’s up with zombie-related media and not saying the word ‘zombie’? I don’t get it,” tweeted one viewer.

“‘The Z word’ My gosh, this is so unnecessarily dramatic,” wrote another.

“I love this show but everything ive heard about the production of it has been so pretentious lmao,” a third person chimed in.

In a troubling revelation, it was revealed last month that the fungus that triggers the events of the series actually exists. Cordyceps can take hold of and zombify small insects, New York Botanical Garden parasitic fungi expert João Araújo confirmed to National Geographic.

“The Last of Us” creator Neil Druckmann said he was inspired to use the fungus after watching a documentary about it.

“It’s this fungus that burrows its way into insects’ minds and completely alters their behavior,” Druckmann told NPR in 2013. “And you know, right away the idea popped in our head of like, ‘What if it jumped to humans?’ Cause you could imagine this fate worse than death, that your mind is still there but something else is controlling your body.” 

The HBO Max series stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey and airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST.