All morning we’ve been wondering what the mysterious “sneak peek” would be in San Diego Comic-Con’s infamous (it has its own Twitter account) Hall H—what treat would greet the fans who’d waited hours in line. It took only a few minutes to find out: Sam Raimi and Neil Druckmann appeared to talk the movie adaptation of video game The Last of Us! Including a very promising meeting with a certain Game of Thrones star.
Congoers in Hall H were treated to some footage from The Last of Us Remastered (an enhanced version of the PlayStation game) and the chance to ask questions of Raimi and Druckmann, who’s the creative director of the game. We’ve known since March that these two are teaming up on a movie adaptation of the horror-survival game, but their presence nonetheless had fans blowing up Twitter with various tidbits about casting, plot/ending, and more.
Many fans’ first assumption was that Raimi was directing the movie, but he clarified that he’s not. Druckmann (who’s also writing the screenplay) will actually be in charge of selecting the director.
On to casting: Ever since the movie was confirmed, fans have pondered who could best play Ellie—leaving out, of course, Ellen Page, who provided the aesthetic inspiration for the character but is finally too old to convincingly play a 14-year-old. Well, it just so happens that Raimi and Druckmann had approached Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams to play Ellie! It was a promising meeting—that’s all we know so far! Though Druckmann jokingly urged fans to ask Williams about it during the GoT panel coming up in Hall H.
The moderator also joked about bringing on Bruce Campbell, who of course has a varied history with Raimi through the Evil Dead films. While they didn’t seem to have a specific role in mind for him, they gave the impression that Campbell may pop up somewhere in The Last of Us.
Raimi and Druckmann said that they had to come up with new scenes in the movie in order to glue together their favorite scenes from the game. They’re definitely considering a different ending entirely, which is always cool in a game adaptation—it lets both audiences enjoy the story without retreading old ground. Raimi did, however, encourage Druckmann to keep the beginning of the movie similar to the start of the game.
Speaking of endings, one blond fan dressed up in Slytherin robes asked a question that let slip a plot twist from the game. Druckmann and Raimi immediately called him “Draco,” which is the best way to respond to all trolls, intentional or not.
Photos: HBO, Naughty Dog
All of our ongoing San Diego Comic Con 2014 coverage can be found here.
