Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin has been tapped to write and executive produce a series based on The Last of Us video games for HBO.
After teaming up with HBO to produce the acclaimed and award-winning miniseries Chernobyl, Craig Mazin is now developing a series based on The Last of Us video games for the network. Joining Craig Mazin on the HBO adaption will be The Last of Us writer and creative director Neil Druckmann, who will work with the Chernobyl creator to write and executive produce the series.
The Last of Us series will be executive produced by Carolyn Strauss and Naughty Dog president Evan Wells. In a statement, Craig Mazin expressed his excitement about working with the video game creator Neil Druckmann on the HBO adaptation:
“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.”
The video game was created by Neil Druckmann in 2013 based on a concept he developed as a Carnegie Mellon University student. In a statement, Druckmann noted that Chernobyl demonstrates why he can’t think of better partners than HBO and Craig Mazin to help him bring his creation to the screen:
“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.”
HBO programming president Casey Bloys made the following statement on the partnership between the Chernobyl team and developers of the game:
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to partner with Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the teams at Sony, Naughty Dog and PlayStation to bring the virtual world of this acclaimed game to life.”
The series will be a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and in association with PlayStation Productions. Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios, noted that the HBO adaptation is intended to be first of many shows they hope to develop with PlayStation Productions:
“This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions. The Last of Us is a brilliant achievement in storytelling and character development, and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team to adapt it.”
You can watch HBO’s short announcement video on series in the post below.
Look for the light. @clmazin and @Neil_Druckmann to develop the series adaptation of #TheLastOfUs, coming soon to HBO: https://t.co/z9c2h86EYw pic.twitter.com/AkT6fET4Im
— HBO (@HBO) March 5, 2020
Are you excited to hear that the Chernobyl creator and HBO are going to bring the video game to life as a series? Let us know in the comments section below.
The Last of Us centers on the relationship between a smuggler named Joel and 14-year-old Ellie, the latter of whom may be the key to curing the deadly pandemic that resulted in the post-apocalypse world of the game. Hired to smuggle Ellie out of a quarantine zone, Joel finds himself relying on the teenage girl just as much as she relies on him as they fight to survive on their journey across the United States. The HBO adaptation will cover the events of the first game, with the upcoming game The Last of Us Part II potentially surviving as the basis for additional content.
Stay tuned to Heroic Hollywood for the latest news on The Last of Us adaptation from Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and HBO as it develops.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter
