According to The Verge, HBO is working on adapting The Last of Us into a TV series. Since most video game adaptations to film are infamously poor, the writer and creative director of both The Last of Us video game and its upcoming sequel, will be involved to help write and executive produce the new adaption and ensure its quality.
A PlayStation-exclusive, the original game was a massive success for Sony – both critically and commercially. Praised for its industry-changing narrative and characters.
At the helm of the adaption is Craig Mazin, creator of Chernobyl – HBO’s latest critically acclaimed drama which takes place in an apocalyptic landscape. The Last of Us which takes place during a post-apocalypse of its own seems to be the perfect fit for Mazin.
Mazin, who himself is a massive fan of the video games, commented that “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus,” and that getting an opportunity to work with him would be an honour.
Joining him will be Evan Wells, the president of The Last of Us’ developers Naughty Dog, who will serve as executive producer, as well as HBO’s Carolyn Strauss. Sony Pictures Television will co-produce the show alongside HBO through its PlayStation Productions studio as its first TV series – which is incidentally is still working on the long-rumoured, long-gestating film adaption of another popular Naughty Dog game Uncharted.
The Last of Us will see a similar plot to the video game as hardened and merciless smuggler Joel protects Ellie, a young girl and the hope for humankind’s future, as they cross the destroyed remains of the United States which are overrun by hyper-aggressive fungal zombies. The duo must deal with the zombie threat, as well as the threat posed by human scavengers as they struggle to survive and reach their destination.
The series is set to adapt the first game, although the possibility exists for the upcoming second game’s story to be adapted as well in a later season. The second game’s plot takes place 5 years after the first.
In 2016 Sam Raimi, the director of the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man film series, was attached to direct a film version of The Last of Us. This imagined film was stuck in development hell for many years without any output of worth. Whether he will jump on to direct an episode or two as of yet is unknown, but probably unlikely.
Edited by Luis Monzon
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