Rejoice! The Last of Us HBO TV Series Is in the Works from Chernobyl Creator
Over the years there have been plans for a The Last of Us movie for quite some time, but those whispers have been quiet for a while now. However, it has been announced that instead of the movie, we will in-fact now be getting a The Last of Us TV series from HBO, which will see the creator of the critically acclaimed Chernobyl TV series, Craig Mazin (a fan of The Last of Us) and Naughty Dog’s writer and creative director Neil Druckmann working together to bring this series to life.
The Last of Us HBO series will also see Carolyn Strauss (Game of Thrones, Chernobyl) as executive producer, and Evan Wells, the president of Naughty Dog joining the production team. This series will also be a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions (the latter of which is their first TV production).
The Last of Us first released in 2013 for the PS3, and then later for PS4 in 2014 and has gone down as one of the greatest videogames of all-time. Not only with its fantastic visuals, gameplay and immersive world, but its powerful story is second-to-none. Set in a post-apocalyptic world where a cordyceps virus has wiped out much of humankind, turning many of its victims into terrifying zombie-like creatures known as “Clickers”.
The story see’s Joel, a father, turned survivor, turned smuggler of this harsh new world and he is reluctantly tasked with smuggling a Ellie, a 14-year old girl out of the quarantine zone to a revolutionary militia group collectively known as the Fireflies, that stand against the governments oppression, who believe that Ellie holds the cure to the cordyceps pandemic. The HBO series is also said to cover the events of the original game, written by Neil Druckmann.
When speaking with Hollywood Reporter, Druckmann expressed his delight of working with Mazin “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,” said Druckmann. “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.“
To say that I am excited by this news, is an understatement, but who would you like to see play the lead roles? For me personally, I’d like to see Hugh Jackman, Nikolaj Coster or John Krasinski play Joel, Maisie Williams, Abigail Breslin or Kaitlyn Dever as Ellie, and I’d love to see Annie Wersching reprise her role as Tess.
Let us know your thoughts on this awesome announcement across our social media channels. The Last of Us: Part II will also release for PlayStation on May 29th.
Source: Hollywood Reporter