The Last Of Us HBO – Everything We Know About The TV Adaptation

The journey has been a long and winding road for HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us adaptation: here’s everything we know so far.

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The journey has been a long and winding road for the The Last of Us adaptation. For some time, a movie was in the works but then shifted gears to television when HBO announced they’d taken the helm back in March. So while the series is still very much in stages of pre-production, there’s still quite a bit to know about the upcoming adaptation.

Story

The show will be based on the original 2013 game, following our main characters Joel and Ellie as they travel across infected America. And while the show will expand on the original source material, there is no intention to compromise the game.

Co-creator, Craig Mazin, said in an interview with BBC that “the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.” This could include a ‘jaw-drop’ moment that was reportedly cut out of the game, but something co-creator Neil Druckmann said could work within the series.

In terms of story, this could also mean that the series will cover events from both The Last of Us Part II and The Last of Us: Left Behind as well. Future seasons are said to be a possibility for the show, so delving into more of the story from the games is definitely not off the table.

Mazin has also promised that Ellie’s sexuality will not be changed for the HBO series. In response to a tweet asking that the series be true to characters’ sexuality, Mazin responded saying “you have my word.”

Who’s Making The Show?

The upcoming series’ co-creators include Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. Mazin, who will also be an executive producer on the project, is best known for his work on the HBO series Chernobyl, which garnered much success after its release. He is also set to co-write the upcoming Borderlands movie starring Cate Blanchett. Mazin is also a huge fan of the games, saying The Last of Us is his favorite game of all time on his podcast, Scriptnotes.

Neil Druckmann will also be co-creating the adaptation. Druckmann was the co-director and co-writer of both The Last of Us titles, in addition to being the vice president of Naughty Dog, the developer behind the games. And now that The Last of Us Part II has been out in the wild for some time, Druckmann can provide more focus for the upcoming adaptation.

The series has also found its pilot director in Johan Renck. Renck is an Emmy award winning director known mainly for his work on Chernobyl where he worked closely with Mazin. We aren’t yet sure if the entire series will be directed by Renck like he did for Chernobyl, or if he will just helm the pilot.

Another notable addition to the creative team is that of Gustavo Santaolalla. The Oscar winning composer provided music for every entry in The Last of Us franchise and will be back for the HBO series.

Cast

While no cast has been confirmed for the adaptation, fan-casts and rumors have been floating around the internet ever since the show was first announced. Troy Baker, the actor who plays Joel in the games, has said he thinks Josh Brolin would be a great choice for the main role. But no matter who ends up being cast as Joel, Baker said he would be satisfied and excited to see a new take on the character. Other possible choices for Joel include favorites like Hugh Jackman and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

The search for Ellie has also ignited fans’ imaginations. Back when the adaptation was still a film, Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams approached Druckmann and Sam Raimi who was previously set to produce the adaptation. She expressed her love for the game and interest in playing the role of Ellie, but as of now, nothing has come of the interaction.

Another standout pick for the role of Ellie would be that of Kaitlyn Dever. The actress who most recently starred in Booksmart and the hit Netflix series Unbelievable, has a similar likeness to that of Ellie and has already worked with Druckmann on Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. In an interview with Collider back in April, Dever talked about her love for the game and that she would absolutely be interested in being a part of the project.

When Will It Be Released?

As of now, there is no confirmed release date set for the series and with COVID-19 still impacting production schedules, that may be the case for some time.

Back when the series was first announced, we knew it would take some time to get moving as Druckmann and the rest of the team at Naughty Dog were still hard at work on The Last of Us Part II. But now that it’s been released, we can expect more news about the TV adaptation soon. The show itself is still a long way off, but it will be nice to hear more about its production as it gets closer.

Link Source : https://www.thegamer.com/the-last-of-us-hbo-everything-we-know-about-the-tv-adaptation/