Hopes are high for HBO’s next series, The Last of Us, not only because it is an adaptation of the very popular Naughty Dog video game, but because it looks like a faithful one. The crowd at CCXP Brazil went crazy after watching the first trailer of the series, further raising the bar. The series features Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, respectively, and is made by original game writer/director Neil Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin. In a new interview with Empire Magazine, Mazin spoke about the expectations from the upcoming series and also revealed an exclusive image.
Most video game adaptations have failed on fans' expectations in the past, except a few like the Sonic franchise or Arcane, and while insight on why that happens is scarce the prevailing theory is that video game narratives aren’t enough meaty for a movie or TV series. However, Mazin, an avid gamer himself, feels that with The Last of Us, “It’s an open-and-shut case: this is the greatest story that has ever been told in video games.”
A new image sees Joel protectively covering Ellie from the harm as two are seen in a warehouse seen in previous promotional material. Just like the games, the series will follow Joel, who is tasked with smuggling Ellie across the US, as she is the last hope for humanity against the Cordyceps, a fungus infecting humans and turning them into Zombie-like creatures, called Clickers. Mazin feels what makes the game works is the human element of it, “They didn’t shoot anything out of their eyeballs,” he says, further explaining,
“They were just people. And that, in and of itself, is remarkably rare in games. The fact that they kept it so grounded, and really made you feel – I had never experienced anything like it, and I’ve been playing video games since 1977.”
Alongside Pascal and Ramsey, the series features some power-packed performers like Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Joel’s smuggling partner, and Merle Dandridge as Marlene, head of fireflies, among many others. Though the series looks faithful to its source material and is backed by amazing talent Mazin revealed that he had extensive conversations with Druckman about bringing in more narrative nuance to the series, adding, “Neil and I always knew to ask, ‘Why are we only doing what’s in the game? What can we do to expand?’”
The Last of Us premieres January 16, 2023.