A poignant musical moment long anticipated by fans of The Last of Us video game unfolded in the HBO series’ latest episode (aired May 18, 2025), as Joel Miller, portrayed by Pedro Pascal, performed Pearl Jam‘s “Future Days” for Ellie Williams, played by Bella Ramsey. The inclusion of the song, despite a notable timeline discrepancy, was a deliberate artistic choice prioritizing emotional resonance, according to series co-creator and executive producer Neil Druckmann.
The song, which originally appeared on Pearl Jam‘s 2013 album Lightning Bolt, technically would not have been released by the time of the Cordyceps outbreak in the series’ timeline (September 2003) or even the game’s original outbreak (September 2013). Speaking to Variety, Druckmann addressed this anachronism.
“Initially, when we were making this episode, there would have been a different song,” he explained. “As we were exploring it, just felt like we were prioritizing the wrong thing, this timeline of events and when things would be available. Clearly, we’re not in the same timeline as our universe, so we have some leeway.”
Druckmann emphasized the song’s importance to the narrative: “And that song felt so important. Because it was in the game, because it has so much association, not only for fans, but even for myself, we changed course. The thing that we thought we cared about, we ultimately didn’t care about, and the emotional truth of the song was more important than the timeline truth of the world that we live in.”
In the episode, the performance of “Future Days” occurs during a flashback where Joel gifts Ellie a guitar for her 15th birthday and plays the song for her. This mirrors a key scene from the second video game. The song had been subtly teased in the previous week’s episode when Ellie picked up an acoustic guitar and sang its opening line, “If I ever were to lose you.” Keen-eyed game players might also recall a Lightning Bolt album poster appearing in an abandoned record store in the game’s Seattle section.
Further cementing the connection, Pearl Jam themselves released a special compilation EP on May 12, 2025, titled after the show and game. Available on streaming platforms, the EP features “Future Days” alongside “All or None” from their 2002 album Riot Act and other tracks featured in the series.
The tracklist includes:
- “Future Days” (studio version, Lightning Bolt, 2013)
- “All or None” (Riot Act, 2002)
- “Future Days” (live at the 2024 Ohana Festival)
- “Present Tense (Redux)” – a newly reimagined version of the fan favorite from No Code (1996)
The May 18th episode also included other nods to iconic rock music, with a poster of Nirvana‘s Kurt Cobain visible outside Ellie‘s bedroom door, and another poster featuring lyrics from Radiohead‘s “Creep.” Earlier in the season, Nirvana‘s cover of “Love Buzz” was played in an episode, and their final single, “You Know You’re Right,” was prominently featured in the Season 2 trailer.
