According to new posters and promotional images, HBO Max’s TV series adaptation of the highly acclaimed videogame franchise The Last of Us will have a major difference from the games. While the events of the franchise's first game take place in 2033, HBO Max is changing the chronology by ten years, by making the adaptation happen in 2023.

The original The Last of Us game takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where society crumbled after a pandemic turned people into vicious zombie-like creatures. In the game’s chronology, the pandemics erupt in 2013, with the main events of The Last of Us happening twenty years later, in 2023. However, in the Twitter account NauthyDogInfo, fans noticed that HBO Max’s official marketing material and set images had changed the dates of the pandemic outbreak to 2003, with the main events of the series now placed in 2023.

The date shift could have been made to approach the events of the show to our real-life chronology. Considering Season One of The Last of Us is expected to hit HBO Max by the end of 2022–and that the company probably expects the show to run through multiple seasons–anticipating the fictional pandemic in ten years allows the series apocalypse to happen in our near future.

last-of-us-hbo-still-social
Image via HBO

RELATED:‌ 7 Essential Pieces of 'The Last of Us' Lore to Remember Before the TV Show

The one-decade change could also be motivated by the series story treatment. While the game deals mainly with events after the pandemic already destroyed the Earth, HBO Max’s adaptation will have to expand on the original narrative to keep the series running for many years. That could mean exploring the pandemics' inception and how it quickly disrupted human life. And you know what’s hard to deal with in an apocalyptic scenario? Technology!

While everybody had a phone in their pockets by 2013 and Internet access was usual, the reality was very different in 2003. So, if HBO Max intends to explore the destruction of society, it will be easier to explain the inability of governments to control the pandemics if the technology available doesn’t allow widespread fast communication. We’ll know for sure if there’s a reason for the change once The Last of Us premieres later this year.

The Last of Us will star Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, the two survivors who join forces in the franchise's first game. Storm Reid was also recently cast as Riley Abel, another survivor who was the focus of the first game’s DLC, The Last of Us: Left Behind. The series’ cast also includes Parks and Recreation's Nick Offerman, along with previously announced stars Anna Torv, Merle Dandrige, Nico Parker, Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Pierce, and Murray Bartlett.

The first episode of The Last of Us will be directed by Kantemir Balagov. Original game creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin are listed as creators for The Last of Us and will also serve as executive producers.

There’s no release date yet for The Last of Us, but the series is expected to wrap filming this Summer. Check out the original tweet with set photos and marketing images below.