2013’s The Last of Us was one of the most acclaimed games ever released for the PlayStation and its creators Naughty Dog. It’s post-apocalyptic story saw a pragmatic survivor Joel (voiced by Troy Baker) reluctantly finding himself having to take a young girl Ellie (Ashley Johnson ) across a toxic urban wasteland to the ‘resistance’ and avoiding a whole range of obstacles and foes as he did so, revealing a greater mystery and truth. The combination of strategy, shoot-em-ups, cinematic-level graphics and genuinely emotive mythology/developing story made it a top-reviewed game and a multi-award-winning release. The long-anticipated and delayed sequel game will hut shelves at the end of May this year and early previews suggest it will have raised its game (no pun intended) once more with a more complex story and even better graphics.
But that might not be its only major spin-off. HBO have now confirmed that they are planning to make a live-action series based on the concept. Interestingly, it appears that the plan is to cover the events depicted in that first game, rather than fill in any of the time (several years) between the two games. The series is the brainchild of Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and the original game’s game writer/creative director Neil Druckmann.
In a statement Druckman said: “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. 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.”
“Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus. 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,” said Mazin, equally effusively.
Naughty Dog‘s previous acclaimed titles were the Uncharted series of games which are currently being considered for a movie adaptation, though the casting and director choices have been in flux for some time and, controversially, are meant to be a prequel to the game’s character, casting Spider-man‘s Tom Holland as a character that was envisioned to be more in the Nathan Fillion form (especially after the latter made a very impressive and glossy fan-film for it).
We were very impressed by The Last of Us, can’t wait for The Last of Us: Part Two in May and the tv idea sounds interesting…
Now… howabout a Days Gone adaptation too?
