The era of video game adaptations is well and truly upon us—but if they all look as good as this one, I for one welcome our new adaptation overlords. A series adaptation of The Last of Us was announced in 2020, and it was clear from the start that HBO was going to take this pretty seriously: Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin was selected to develop the show along with Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of the original game.
Then they went and cast Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as Joel and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) as Ellie, both of who seemed like impossibly perfect choices—and all the more so now that we can see them in action.
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Even Though I Knew the End
The Last of Us is set after a horrible pandemic has wreaked havoc on civilization. As PlayStation’s summary says,
20 years after a pandemic has radically changed known civilization, infected humans run wild and survivors are killing each other for food, weapons; whatever they can get their hands on. Joel, a violent survivor, is hired to smuggle a 14 year-old girl, Ellie, out of an oppressive military quarantine zone, but what starts as a small job soon transforms into a brutal journey across the U.S.
You definitely get a sense of that brutal journey in this trailer, which wisely limits the amount of time it spends on the infected. Instead, the sense of danger comes from all sides, including just plain old humans. Melanie Lynskey does not look nice! And according to Entertainment Weekly, she plays “Kathleen, the ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City.”
Bella Ramsey was an absolute standout in the later seasons of Game of Thrones, where she played fierce young Lyanna Mormont. Pascal, of course, also had his turn in the Game of Thrones arena, but has been perfecting loner-with-a-young-charge on The Mandalorian.
The series also stars Merle Dandridge (in her game role of Marlene), Gabriel Luna, Nico Parker, Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Anna Torv, and Storm Reid. The game’s Joel and Ellie, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, also have roles in the series.
Today’s date, September 26, is an important date in the series: In 2013, it’s the day the pandemic reached critical mass. Happy Outbreak Day, everybody?
The Last of Us comes to HBO in 2023.
