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How The Last of Us Part 2’s Baby JJ Was Created | Screen Rant
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us: Part 2 introduced the youngest character to ever grace the franchise, baby JJ, and it turns out a lot of effort went into making the infant’s movements appear realistic and believable. This is a testament to the level of detail that went into creating the long-awaited sequel to the original The Last of Us.
Although JJ is the biological son of Dina, both she and Ellie appear to be raising the child when the game flashes forward to the couple’s life at the farmhouse. Players spend a considerable amount of time playing as Ellie as she interacts with her son and partner, allowing players to form an emotional attachment to the child. This makes it all the more jarring when Ellie eventually abandons her family to pursue Abby.
In order to create baby JJ, animators at Naughty Dog had to work with two adult actors in order to capture the baby’s movements. Marianne Hayden, an animator at Naughty Dog, posted a behind-the-scenes video to Twitter showing exactly how they perfected the animations. One of the motion capture actors was seated on a chair and wrapped their arms around the other actor, who was standing, in order to pretend to be baby JJ in Ellie’s arms. The split-screen video looks silly on the left as the actors try to mimic a rambunctious baby being held, but the right-hand side shows exactly what those movements allowed the animators to do with Ellie and baby JJ.
Who Is Baby JJ In The Last of Us 2?
JJ may only have a brief role in The Last of Us 2, but the child’s presence is important to the larger story. Once Ellie and Dina reach Seattle, Dina reveals that she’s several weeks pregnant. Having just split up with her boyfriend of several years, Jesse, the game doesn’t need to spell it out that the baby is his. Jesse also doesn’t exactly seem surprised when he learns Dina is expecting upon catching up to the duo in Seattle.
Following Jesse’s death, Ellie assumes the role of the other parent in JJ’s life. Fan speculation has suggested the acronym JJ may be tribute to Jesse and Joel, who both die over the course of the game, though The Last of Us: Part 2 declines to provide a solid answer to the inspiration behind the baby’s name. Ellie was only a kid in the first installment of the franchise, so it’s a game-changer that she becomes a parent herself in the sequel. But perhaps even more surprising is when she leaves Dina and JJ to find Abby, only to return to the farmhouse to see all of their stuff packed up.
It’s unclear where Dina took JJ to after Ellie left, though it’s implied she went back to Jackson County – a letter Ellie can find from Jesse’s family tells Dina she’ll always have a place with them. It remains unknown if Ellie goes off to pursue Dina and JJ’s whereabouts at the end of the game or not. So, even though JJ may only have a minor role in the grand scheme of The Last of Us 2, the infant still plays an important role.
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Source: ScreenRant
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