Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey Must Survive in the Teaser for ‘The Last of Us’
The HBO Max adaptation of the best-selling dystopian game franchise comes from ‘Chernobyl’ creator Craig Mazin and game writer Neil Druckmann.
After years – decades, almost – of a terrible reputation for dodgy quality and lack of faithfulness, video game adaptations are finally having their moment. Even if movies such as ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ don’t exactly set critics’ hearts on fire, they’re successful and spawn sequels the way characters in some titles spawn new lives.
And with an expansive, well-designed and much-loved game like ‘The Last of Us’, the small screen and healthy-budget streaming environs would seem to be the ideal venue for a solid adaptation. Hopes are high, then, for HBO Max’s series based on ‘The Last of Us’.
The prestige on the creative front is already high for this one: you have Craig Mazin, who went from writing movies including ‘The Hangover’ to creating ‘Chernobyl’, one of the most respected and polished HBO dramas of recent years, as one of the main executive producers, sharing show-running duties with Neil Druckmann, who ‘Last of Us’ fans will know as the writer and developer behind the game itself.
Launched in 2013 by company Naughty Dog, ‘The Last Of Us’ is set in a post-apocalyptic world 20 years after a strange fungal outbreak began mutating people into vicious creatures. The storyline focuses on smuggler Joel, and Ellie, who may just be the key to a cure for the pandemic that has wrecked the planet.
When Joel is hired to smuggle Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone, he thinks it’ll be a quick job and an easy payday. But it soon become a brutal journey across the US and a struggle for survival. The show, which is intending a longer run than the limited, self-contained ‘Chernobyl’, will cover the events of the first game, with the option to also tackle the sequel, which came out in June 2020.
Though it had been developed as a movie, the idea moved to streaming once big screen development stalled.
(L to R) Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie in HBO's 'The Last of Us.'
“Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and ‘The Last of Us’ is his magnum opus,” says Mazin, who is a fan of the game, when he first came aboard the concept in 2020. “Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”
“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of ‘The Last of Us,’” Druckmann enthused. “With ‘Chernobyl’, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn't think of better partners to bring the story of ‘The Last of Us’ to life as a television show.”
Casting wise, we have ‘The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal as Joel, while his young ward this time isn’t a big-eared, little green creature, but ‘Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie.
Alongside them are Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel’s younger brother, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, leader of a resistance movement (and playing the same role she does in the game) and Anna Torv as Tess.
Then there’s Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Storm Reid and Melanie Lynskey. Quite the ensemble there!
From all appearances, Mazin, Druckmann and their team have conjured up a gloriously devastated, emotional world with just a hint of Western flavor in amongst the ruined buildings and creeping terror.
‘The Last of Us’ will be on HBO Max next year.
Grounded: Making The Last of Us
A feature-length exploration of the game's creation, and a love letter to the trials of exploring new territory. There are no road maps or guide books for creating... Read the Plot
