September 26 is an important day for the fans of the popular PlayStation series, The Last of Us. It is known as Outbreak Day, a day that in the game's universe, marked both the outbreak of the series' world ending infection but in real life is a day meant to celebrate the post-apocalypse franchise. From fanart to cosplay, those passionate about the series come together to celebrate it. The day was capped off with a tease that fans have been waiting for. HBO has revealed the first look at their upcoming adaptation of the critically acclaimed video game series.
Revealed simultaneously on HBO's official Twitter page and in a tweet from Neil Druckmann, the series' director and creative director at Naughty Dog, fans were given the first look at the series with a single photo. The photo in the tweet shows the franchise's popular duo of Joel, played by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie, played by Bella Ramsey, as they overlook a grassy hill with the wreckage of a crashed plane sitting atop it.
The series is being developed by both Druckmann and Craig Mazin. The show will also star Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, Gabriel Luna as Joel's brother Tommy, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, and Anna Torv as Tess. The first season is set to have a 10-episode run.
The original The Last of Us was released in 2013 and was highly praised by both critics and fans, receiving a number of Game of the Year Awards. One of the primary reasons that the game was so beloved was the relationship between Joel and Ellie and is the emotional centerpiece of the game's narrative. With this image, fans are getting to see these characters that they care about so deeply make the transition from game to show, a process that video games have notoriously had issues with. With the talent of Pascal and Ramsey, it's not hard to expect that that same connection seen in the game will jump off the television screen as well.
The Last of Us television adaptation will air on HBO and will premiere sometime in 2022. Look at the first look at the live-action Last of Us series and read the series' official synopsis down below.
The story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (portrayed by Pascal) – a hardened survivor – is hired to smuggle Ellie (portrayed by Ramsey) – a 14-year-old girl – out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the US and depend on each other for survival.