The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)
MARCH 05, 2020 9:30AMby*Borys Kit, Patrick Shanley
Craig Mazin, the creator of the acclaimed limited series*Chernobyl,*is reteaming with HBO adapt*The Last of Us, the massive Sony PlayStation video game franchise.
In a rare development in the world of video game adaptations, the writer and creative director of the game, Neil Druckmann, is also involved, and will work with Mazin to pen and executive produce what is intended to be a series.
Carolyn Strauss will also executive produce along with Evan Wells, the president of Naughty Dog, the Santa Monica-based developer of the game. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and in association with PlayStation Productions and it will be the first television series from PlayStation Productions.
Originally launched in 2013, Sony and Naughty Dog’s*The Last of Us*garnered critical praise for its engrossing tale of the post-apocalypse centered on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be a key to a cure for the deadly pandemic.
Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the14-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 HBO series will cover the events of the original game, which was written by Druckmann, with the possibility of additional content based on the forthcoming game sequel,*The Last of Us Part II, which will release on May 29, 2020.
Mazin, who is said to be an avid player of the game, stated, “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and*The Last of Us*is his magnum opus. Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”
“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of*The Last of Us,” said Druckmann in a statement. “With*Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of*The Last of Us*to life as a television show.”
Last of Us*won numerous “game of the year” awards and went on to sell more than 17 million copies across both its original release on the PlayStation 3 and a remastered version on the PlayStation 4.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to partner with Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the teams at Sony, Naughty Dog and PlayStation to bring the virtual world of this acclaimed game to life,” stated HBO programming president Casey Bloys.
“This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions,” said Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios.*The Last of Us*is a brilliant achievement in storytelling and character development, and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team to adapt it.”
Druckmann is a longtime vet of Naughty Dog, starting as a programming intern in 2004. In 2007, he was given the role of game designer on*Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first installment in the action adventure series. In 2013, he created*The Last of Us, based on a concept he developed as a student at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mazin’s*Chernobyl*tackled a bleak and complex true-life event and became a must-see show for HBO. The show won an Emmy for outstanding limited series and landed one for Mazin for outstanding writing. Mazin also won a PGA and a WGA Award.
Episode 3 was basically a movie within the series. One thing not talked about because everyone is focused on Bill being gay or whatever but :
Spoiler!
A little unnerving that the government was committing genocide and making mass graves for those that they couldn’t fit into the trains. All the people that thought they were being taken care of - KILLED - like they were nothing. No stone head, just killed and thrown into a pile in the ditch. At one point during the argument between bill and frank, frank points out that he is a nutcase that thought the government were run by nazis, and stops himself and admits that they eventually were.
Originally Posted by backinblack:
seriously doubt that Chevrolet S10 is still running in 2023. It's 2023 now in normal civilized life and the remaining S10s are running on fumes and duct tape, let alone one that is supposed to get you from Boston to Wyoming in a post apocalyptic wasteland.
Joel even mentions he doubts the piece of shit
That's what you thought was unrealistic? That's minor (not that kind of minor BWillie, so don't get all horny) to me. Why is no one talking about how Bill has the smarts to set up all those traps and has an army's worth of guns but then when the raiders DO come and trigger his traps his just sits in the middle of the street-with no armor firing at them?
You wanna tell me this super prepper wouldn't have thought to make some kind of vantage point set up with a clear shot on the fence on his roof? Or put some kind of cover in the street so he can fire without being a sitting duck? OR making sure that both spots are heavily armed and that he and his dude have access to some kinda body armor? I mean he had over 15 years I think before those raiders came, you couldn't piece together something that covers your body? Lastly I don't know why Joel and Elie didn't completely clean that place out of guns/ammo along with as much gas as they could carry.
The ghey love story was actually well told and acted, but did they make that because that rest of the episode made no sense whatsoever?
Lastly fuck that guy who gave spoilers for TLOU2, I beat the 1st and was thinking about buying the sequel this week...... [Reply]
was kind of a tongue in cheek comment, crapping on the old S-10s.
though it is interesting Bill still had enough gas for the truck 20 years into the apocalypse, and apparently to use on his traps outside the fence. Gas does not keep for 20 years, at least not the point of being useable in a internal combustion engine, he can find and hoard as much Sta-Bil as he wants it's not holding it up for 20 years. As well as having enough diesel for generators to keep electricity flowing until after his death, and natural gas for heat(and apparently running water? where's that coming from?).
He was pretty smart to pump the gas before he did anything else and before the electricity was shut off to the area(thus rendering gas pumps useless), which happened later when he was in the Home Depot.
Of course none of this is really that important in the overall story, just interesting to think about. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Superturtle:
If they're willing to not stay to a strict one to one retelling of the games exactly I really hope they tell the narrative of TLOU 2 in chronological order instead of the constant flashbacks. Do that and take a bit more time fleshing out some of the side players and I think Druckmann could go an incredibly long way to redeeming what so many disliked about the games narrative.
That's a hard one for me with continuity vs flashbacks. I think kthe flash backs give it more immediacy in the sense of you see Abbie's past and "normal" it is outside of Ellie's impact right before that impact. It's hard to make my point without spoilers if that makes sense. [Reply]
The game establishing early that Ellie is pretty much not on speaking terms with Joel after finding out about what he did to the Fireflies only to kill him off, and THEN try to walk it back to Ellie telling Joel she'd eventually like to try to forgive him in a flashback to their final conversation together literal hours of game time later was just too little, too late. I don't give a shit about the cyclical revenge narrative between Ellie and Abbie when it comes at the cost of making Joel and Ellie's story end in a satisfying way. At least if that conversation happens first in the show and then he gets killed off the way he did it will be much more emotionally impactful.
Originally Posted by Pogue:
Episode 3 was basically a movie within the series. One thing not talked about because everyone is focused on Bill being gay or whatever but :
Spoiler!
A little unnerving that the government was committing genocide and making mass graves for those that they couldn’t fit into the trains. All the people that thought they were being taken care of - KILLED - like they were nothing. No stone head, just killed and thrown into a pile in the ditch. At one point during the argument between bill and frank, frank points out that he is a nutcase that thought the government were run by nazis, and stops himself and admits that they eventually were.
You'd think people would be the most valuable resource in an apocalypse, but I wouldn't put it past the government. They can't even balance a budget so I don't expect sound decision-making when shit gets crazy.
We didn't really get to see much of the collapse either so who knows if it was a good decision or not?
Originally Posted by mkp785:
Lastly I don't know why Joel and Elie didn't completely clean that place out of guns/ammo along with as much gas as they could carry.
Lol I always think about that in post-apocalyptic movies. It makes sense to travel light in that hellscape, though. Guns just draw the attention of more fungus zombies too.
I was definitely hoping he'd close the gate on his way out just to keep that compound viable for the future. [Reply]
Originally Posted by DrunkBassGuitar:
Bill breaking down when frank told him his wishes was pretty brutal
From the NYT recap:
"It’s as though the opening montage from the movie “Up” were extended to about 45 minutes and then dropped into the middle of “World War Z.”
Thought that was poignant and apropos. My wife and I have been talking about this episode for days now. She's not familiar with the game at all, and I pretty much had to beg her to watch it before it came out, but she's really into it now. She bawled HARD during a lot of the last sequences with Bill & Frank. I was very emotional as well. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pogue:
Episode 3 was basically a movie within the series. One thing not talked about because everyone is focused on Bill being gay or whatever but :
Spoiler!
A little unnerving that the government was committing genocide and making mass graves for those that they couldn’t fit into the trains. All the people that thought they were being taken care of - KILLED - like they were nothing. No stone head, just killed and thrown into a pile in the ditch. At one point during the argument between bill and frank, frank points out that he is a nutcase that thought the government were run by nazis, and stops himself and admits that they eventually were.
Its scary because Bill didnt even know he was ghey until zombies. Perhaps the cordyceps spread homo through the air. Just gotta keep finding the cure.
But ya best episode of show so far. Shouldn't have killed off gay Ron Swanson. [Reply]
Originally Posted by mkp785:
That's what you thought was unrealistic? That's minor (not that kind of minor BWillie, so don't get all horny) to me. Why is no one talking about how Bill has the smarts to set up all those traps and has an army's worth of guns but then when the raiders DO come and trigger his traps his just sits in the middle of the street-with no armor firing at them?
You wanna tell me this super prepper wouldn't have thought to make some kind of vantage point set up with a clear shot on the fence on his roof? Or put some kind of cover in the street so he can fire without being a sitting duck? OR making sure that both spots are heavily armed and that he and his dude have access to some kinda body armor? I mean he had over 15 years I think before those raiders came, you couldn't piece together something that covers your body? Lastly I don't know why Joel and Elie didn't completely clean that place out of guns/ammo along with as much gas as they could carry.
The ghey love story was actually well told and acted, but did they make that because that rest of the episode made no sense whatsoever?
Lastly fuck that guy who gave spoilers for TLOU2, I beat the 1st and was thinking about buying the sequel this week......
They aren't just going to load up all of the guns into the back of an S10. It's the apocalypse. Take what you need and move on. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
You'd think people would be the most valuable resource in an apocalypse, but I wouldn't put it past the government. They can't even balance a budget so I don't expect sound decision-making when shit gets crazy.
We didn't really get to see much of the collapse either so who knows if it was a good decision or not?
Lol I always think about that in post-apocalyptic movies. It makes sense to travel light in that hellscape, though. Guns just draw the attention of more fungus zombies too.
I was definitely hoping he'd close the gate on his way out just to keep that compound viable for the future.
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
They aren't just going to load up all of the guns into the back of an S10. It's the apocalypse. Take what you need and move on.
Fair enough, but at least load up on ammo. That's why he had to get rid of his whatever bigger gun from earlier (gun guys on here can fill in what that was). Really they'd need a couple of handguns, something to hunt with, something bigger and nasty that could maybe be fired from the truck, a sniper rifle......and a ton of ammo. The gas should be also packed as much as can be safely taken.
I did play the game and other games like Fallout that are similar to this one so I probably am thinking about this video game wise. Obviously in real life a human just can't carry all that stuff. Ammo seems like an obvious one along with a gun for Elie. [Reply]