“You preserve her life and restore order.”
A traumatized survivor of a zombie apocalypse must face hordes of the “Infected” to protect a teenage girl who might hold the key to a cure in The Last of Us, a new HBO series based on the blockbuster action/adventure game of the same name. Gamers now have their first peek at this eagerly anticipated TV adaptation thanks to HBO’s recent release of the first official teaser.
(Some game spoilers are included below.)
Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us video game received plaudits for its storyline, gameplay, graphics, and sound design upon its release in 2013. In his 2013 review, senior gaming journalist at Ars Kyle Orland referred to it as “a thrilling, beautiful, wonderfully human zombie apocalypse thriller.” More than 1 million copies of the game were sold in its first week of availability, and it received numerous gaming honours. It is still frequently mentioned as one of the best video games ever created. Craig Mazin, the co-showrunner, referred to it as the “Lawrence of Arabia of video game storytelling.” The first season of the TV show was co-written by Mazin and Neil Druckmann, a co-president of Naughty Dog and the guy behind the original game’s writing and directing.
The game takes place in 2013, 20 years after a fatal epidemic of a mutant fungus that transforms people into horrifying zombie-like creatures (the Infected, or Clickers). The globe has divided into numerous authoritarian quarantine zones and independent communities, complicating life for the survivors with a booming black market and a rebel militia known as the Fireflies. In order to get a teenage girl named Ellie to a Fireflies unit outside the quarantine zone, a seasoned smuggler named Joel must accompany Ellie across the destroyed US while fending off enemy troops and hordes of zombies. Ellie is unique in that she is resistant to the deadly fungus, and it is believed that this resistance will be the key to curing the illness.
Before HBO Max revealed its TV version of The Last of Us, which is said to encompass the events of the game as well as some of the sequel, The Last of Us Part II, there were a few unsuccessful attempts to adapt the game for a film (2020). Mazin stated that any alterations made for The Last of Us TV series are “intended to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but to enrich,” in contrast to the recent film adaptation of another Naughty Dog game, Uncharted, which told a new tale within the game universe. Additionally, he mentioned that part of the speech in the series will be taken directly from the game and that certain stuff that was eliminated from the game will be included. Gustavo Santaolalla, the original game composer, wrote the music for the programme.
Joel was portrayed by Pedro Pascal, and Ellie is played by Bella Ramsey, who is well known for playing the feisty Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones. Merle Dandridge returns to the game as Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, and Gabriel Luna plays Joel’s younger brother Tommy, a former soldier. Tess, played by Anna Torv, is Joel’s accomplice in smuggling, and Sarah, played by Nico Parker, is Joel’s daughter. While Storm Reid portrays Riley Abel, an orphaned girl who featured in a DLC pack for the first game, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman play survivalists (The Last of Us: Left Behind).
Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who portrayed Joel and Ellie, respectively, in the game, have been cast in roles that are still unknown. Jeffrey Pierce, who played Tommy in the game, plays Perry, a rebel in the quarantine zone. A few new characters have also been introduced, including Marlon (Graham Greene), who lives in the Wyoming wilderness with his wife Florence (Elaine Miles), and Kathleen (Melanie Lynskey), a revolutionary leader in Kansas City.
