HBO has greenlit the new television adaptation of The Last of Us.
Hollywood Reporter confirms the project is progressing under the watch of Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin and the game’s writer Neil Druckmann, alongside PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and, of course, Naughty Dog.
“Craig and Neil are visionaries in a league of their own,” said HBO Programming executive VP Francesca Orsi. “With them at the helm alongside the incomparable Carolyn Strauss, this series is sure to resonate with both die-hard fans of The Last of Us games and newcomers to this genre-defining saga. We’re delighted to partner with Naughty Dog, Word Games, Sony and PlayStation to adapt this epic, powerfully immersive story.”
Though little else is currently known about the project, it appears the show will follow the events of the original game, with fourteen-year-old Ellie being smuggled out of the quarantine zone by Joel.
“We’re thrilled to be working with HBO and this fantastic creative team to bring The Last of Us series to life,” added Sony Pictures TV Studios president Jeff Frost and PlayStation Productions head Asad Qizilbash in a statement. “PlayStation’s innovative storytelling and ingenuity is a natural complement to SPT’s creative focus. Our collaboration is a great example of our ‘One Sony’ philosophy at work. We look forward to developing even more iconic game IP in the future.”
Mazin recently told the BBC that the show would include new material mixed in with re-imagined scenes taken from the two games in the series.
“Our goal is not to keep you in love with The Last of Us,” Mazin said, “but to make you fall in love with it again in a different way. It’s a passive way of taking it in, instead of playing it, but you’ll be experiencing more, with more characters in more ways. I think we’ve got something good going.