Gamers are less than a month away from the release of HBO’s The Last of Us. The series premieres in mid-January and has seen a marketing explosion because of that. Leading up to the release, we have received countless new trailers, posters, and images for this highly anticipated horror adaptation. Now the series, based on the critically acclaimed PlayStation franchise of the same name, has revealed a new image that highlights one of The Last of Us’ most compelling characters.
Posted to the series’ various social media pages, the image shows Merle Dandridge’s Marlene in a dire state with another member of her Firefly faction. If you’ve played the first game you know exactly what's going on here. Very early on in The Last of Us game, Marlene hires Joel and Tess for a “cargo” mission. However, it turns out the “cargo” is a young girl named Ellie whom they have to take safely across the country to the Firefly base in Utah. In classic Joel fashion, he hates the idea — but eventually and reluctantly agrees because Marlene is wounded. The reason why they’re escorting Ellie is that she’s immune to the virus. Like we’ve seen in previous trailers, she was bitten by an infected but never turned. She’s the key that the Fireflies have been looking for.
Dandridge is one of the more interesting castings because she’s the only actor from the games to reprise their role for this HBO adaptation. She voiced Marlene to perfection across both Last of Us games, so it will be interesting to see what both she and the writers add to her character this time around. They don’t need to do much as Marlene is already such a rich character. Without going into spoilers she’s satisfyingly in this moral gray area and, once her true intentions are revealed, Joel and Ellie’s relationship forever changes in a jaw-dropping fashion.
Almost a decade later, The Last of Us is still one of the greatest games ever made with arguably one of the best-written stories in any medium. It wasn’t just another generic zombie post-apocalyptic affair, this once-in-a-generation experience was a rich character-driven emotional masterpiece. That only continued with its Left Behind DLC and The Last of Us Part II. From everything we’ve seen so far, this HBO series looks to be one of the most faithful video game adaptations in history. Just like this new image, there are so many shots and lines ripped straight from the games which has made a lot of fans happy. It also helps that Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie completely inhabit the spirit of their gaming counterparts. Their storyline and dynamic with Marlene is arguably the most important plot thread across both games, so be prepared with a box of tissues once Season 1 ends.
The Last of Us is premiering on HBO on January 15 and will consist of nine episodes. Along with Dandridge, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who played Joel and Ellie respectively in the games, are set to appear in the series in currently undisclosed roles. While we wait to see the games come to life, you can watch the previously released trailer down below.