HBO has officially ordered The Last of Us adaptation from Chernobal‘s Craig Mazin and the game’s writer and creative director Neil Druckmann straight to series.
Both parts of The Last of Us are highly regarded as one of the most cinematic video games of all-time. Despite the tarnished history of video game adaptations in the past, we learned back in March that HBO was developing a live-action series based on The Last of Us games with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and the game’s creative director Neil Druckmann.
After months of working on The Last of Us IP, HBO is now ordering the adaptation straight to series. HBO programing executive VP Francesca Orsi had this to say in a statement about moving forward with the video game series:
“Craig and Neil are visionaries in a league of their own. With them at the helm alongside the incomparable Carolyn Strauss, this series is sure to resonate with both die-hard fans of The Last of Us games and newcomers to this genre-defining saga. We’re delighted to partner with Naughty Dog, Word Games, Sony and PlayStation to adapt this epic, powerfully immersive story.”
The press release also featured comments from Sony Pictures TV Studios president Jeff Frost and PlayStation Productions head Asad Qizilbash:
“We’re thrilled to be working with HBO and this fantastic creative team to bring The Last of Us series to life. PlayStation’s innovative storytelling and ingenuity is a natural complement to SPT’s creative focus. Our collaboration is a great example of our ‘One Sony’ philosophy at work. We look forward to developing even more iconic game IP in the future.”
Who would you cast as Ellie and Joel for the series? Share your fan-casting in the comments 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 second game potentially surviving as the basis for additional content.
Stay tuned for all the latest news on the upcoming HBO series and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content in the future!