HBO has officially greenlit a The Last of Us TV series adaptation with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin working alongside with the game’s writer and creative director Neil Druckmann.
Besides them, Game of Thrones’ Carolyn Strauss and Naughty Dog president Evan Wells will executive produce the series along with Asad Qizilibash and Carter Swan from PlayStation Productions. The series is a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television.
PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog will also produce, with the project likely to be the first TV production from the former alongside Twisted Metal and Sly Cooper adaptations. No casting details or a potential release date were announced. The series will be available on HBO and to stream via HBO Max.
The synopsis was laid out in a press release from HBO:
“Based on the critically acclaimed video game “The Last of Us,” developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation® platforms, the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed.”
“Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, 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 U.S. and depend on each other for survival. “
The Last of Us was released in 2013 to critical and commercial acclaim, selling over 20 million copies. Its sequel The Last of Us Part II was released in June this year to similar success, but its narrative polarised the fanbase.
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— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) November 20, 2020
Besides this series, Sony also has a film adaptation of Uncharted in post-production. The film – which will serve as a prequel to the games – stars Tom Holland, Mark Wahlberg, and Antonio Banderas.
The Ruben Fleischer-directed project has had a troubled development since it was announced way back in 2008, having gone through seven directors before Fleischer. Filming was also interrupted by COVID-19 with Banderas testing positive for the virus. It has been scheduled to release in theatres on 16 July 2021.
