The HBO Max series adaptation of The Last of Us is without a doubt one of the most anticipated shows of 2023. With a teaser trailer for the series released in September, fervor for the new series only continues to grow as we get closer to the new year. After finally getting a release date earlier this week, fans are counting down the days until we'll be able to see Joel and Ellie on our TV screens. Recently, Collider's own Christina Radish got an update on what we can expect from the series adaptation when she sat down with actor Murray Bartlett to talk about Welcome to Chippendales.
The Last of Us is a third-person apocalypse survival game for Playstation from Naughty Dog and Sony. HBO's series adaptation will feature Pedro Pascal as Joel, a former highwayman who is hired to bring Bella Ramsey's Ellie to the quarantine zone. Ellie is believed to hold the cure for the zombie-like outbreak that lead to the apocalypse after it's discovered that she's immune to the Cordyceps infection that causes the transformation.
Bartlett, who is set to play Frank in the series, revealed that while he's "not a gamer" he believes that "people who are gamers will enjoy the show for many of the [same] reasons" that they love the game series. In the game, Bartlett's character Frank and his partner Bill are responsible for having fortified a local town which protagonists Joel and Ellie pass through on their journey. Nick Offerman is set to play Bill in the series, though it's yet to be seen how closely Bill and Frank's story will align with the canon of the games.
Despite not having played The Last of Us, the research Bartlett did ahead of the series instilled a deep love for the characters and the story. He told Collider:
"As far as I know, in my research, because I went into a deep dive on what the game is, it's incredibly cinematic. The characters are really fantastic. It's an amazing, complicated story with really deep themes in it. It's an amazing creation. They've really beautifully adapted all of those elements into this show. It's an incredible team. Part of the team created Chernobyl, which is another amazing piece of TV. There's an amazing cast. They've put a lot of love and resources behind it. I think it's gonna be a fantastic show."
During their conversation, Bartlett went on to share high praise for the series across the board, but particularly for the show's writing, saying:
"The scripts that I had to work with, one particular script is one of the best hours of television I've ever read. It's beautiful. It's beautifully written. There are these zombie creatures in it, but it's tender and it's human. I think it's gonna be really special. I haven't seen any of it yet, but I'm really proud of the work we did and I think it could be really, really wonderful. It will be really wonderful."
Production Details for The Last of Us HBO Series Adaptation
In addition to Pascal, Ramsey, Bartlett, and Offerman additional cast includes Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, who reprises her role as Marlene from the games, Anna Torv, who is set to play Joel's partner Tess, Jeffrey Pierce, Storm Reid, who'll bring to life Ellie's friend Riley, Melanie Lynskey, and more. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, who voiced Ellie and Joel in the game, are also expected to appear in the series though their roles have not yet been revealed. The nine-episode first season was written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann — Druckmann also wrote and directed the original game.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO on January 15, 2023. You can watch the trailer for the series down below.