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.
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
I think the assumption was that her mom got bit before she severed the umbilical cord so she developed some sort of immunity from that.
Originally Posted by Sure-Oz:
I love this show but I feel a few more episodes would've been money for sure. Maybe they were limited on episodes being a game adaptation but idk. Hopefully they flesh it out more in the upcoming seasons.
Originally Posted by DJJasonp:
they really knocked it out of the park with S1 (though it would have been nice to have 3-4 more episodes so it wasnt so rushed).
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
They definitely could have stretched this out a bit more... Seems a bit rushed. While it was OK I wouldn't say it was the best ever. Solid 7.5/10 score for me.
Maybe they didn't get more initial episodes because of the fail rate of games into film or TV?:-)
They will get as many episodes in a season as they like now. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
Also, if they kill everyone before they turn how do they know some other people haven't developed some sort of immunity.
Hah, I thought about this as well. Scientifically, it doesn't make much sense to nuke everyone from orbit the instant you think they're infected. Ideally you'd keep them alive, study how long it takes them to turn, and maybe get lucky and find someone who is immune.
But that's easy to say from the safety of my own couch. If I was next to someone who had a 99.9999999% of turning into a raving lunatic, who can also doom me with just one bite, I'd probably just kill them quickly to avoid the risk as well.
Reminds me of that scene in 28 Days Later where the chick hacks her buddy up on the spot because he had an open wound after a fight with infected. She wasn't even sure he'd even been infected; killed him in cold blood regardless. [Reply]
Originally Posted by ThaVirus:
Hah, I thought about this as well. Scientifically, it doesn't make much sense to nuke everyone from orbit the instant you think they're infected. Ideally you'd keep them alive, study how long it takes them to turn, and maybe get lucky and find someone who is immune.
But that's easy to say from the safety of my own couch. If I was next to someone who had a 99.9999999% of turning into a raving lunatic, who can also doom me with just one bite, I'd probably just kill them quickly to avoid the risk as well.
Reminds me of that scene in 28 Days Later where the chick hacks her buddy up on the spot because he had an open wound after a fight with infected. She wasn't even sure he'd even been infected; killed him in cold blood regardless.
Plus go back and look at when Joel and Tess are trying to get Ellie out of the QZ. She still shows as infected on that dude's scanner. That's all anyone needs to know before they'll instantly kill you.
Like you said...I don't blame anyone for instantly putting a bullet in the head of someone who has a 99.999% chance of turning. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRedChief:
Maybe they didn't get more initial episodes because of the fail rate of games into film or TV?:-)
They will get as many episodes in a season as they like now.
This probably played a large part, yes. Live action video game adaptations have pretty much been guaranteed to be awful recently. Halo and Witcher going off the rails are good examples. Who knew all it took was at least respecting the source material to make it a smashing success. Hopefully this spawns a bunch of adaptations that don't have douchefuck writers mucking around and ruining things. [Reply]
Also, LOL at Joel going Rambo on an entire compound-full of trained muscle, but getting shived with a broken baseball bat by some random jamoke
Spoiler!
I would be cautious assuming any traiining from the Fireflies. They gave a 16 year old girl a handgun and half a dozen pipe bombs with no training at all but she was "sneaky".
Originally Posted by The Franchise:
You know once FEDRA found out....they'd be letting the infected bite pregnant women who were just about to give birth.
Would be a great idea since Joel screwed over humanity. [Reply]
Yeah I'm kinda surprised that Marlene never tried to recreate that as the possibility of a cure. Kinda wished they would've added a line saying they tried but were never able to replicate what happened to Ellie, showing how unique she truly is. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Gravedigger:
Yeah I'm kinda surprised that Marlene never tried to recreate that as the possibility of a cure. Kinda wished they would've added a line saying they tried but were never able to replicate what happened to Ellie, showing how unique she truly is.
Has anyone tried to fuck a zombie? Maybe that would work. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Gravedigger:
Yeah I'm kinda surprised that Marlene never tried to recreate that as the possibility of a cure. Kinda wished they would've added a line saying they tried but were never able to replicate what happened to Ellie, showing how unique she truly is.
:-) Yeah, as fucked up as it would be that's not really the hardest thing to recreate. [Reply]
Originally Posted by staylor26:
You also have to remember that it's been 20 years and Ellie is literally the only outlier. She's basically a miracle.
That's not true though. In the game at least, there were tape recordings you could collect in the hospital. They referenced other immune individuals that they attempted to harvest a vaccine from. They all failed. It was part of the argument against sacrificing Ellie. Jerry tried and failed with several others. I haven't seen the final episode yet and I doubt they went into this much detail in the show. So maybe that's what you are referring to. [Reply]
Huh. They actually DID hint at the reason Ellie is immune to the game, but it's in a really obscure place. It's during the winter chapter when you control Ellie. You have to go into her bag and pull out the letter to read it.
Ellie,
I'm going to share a secret with you, I'm not a big fan of kids and I hate babies. And yet... I'm staring at you and I'm just awestruck.
You're not even a day old and holding you is the most incredible thing I've done in my life - a life that is about to get cut a little short. Marlene will look after you. There's no one in this world I trust more than her. When the time comes she'll tell you all about me. Don't give her too much of a hard time. Try not to be as stubborn as me.
I'm not going to lie, this is a pretty messed up world. It won't be easy. The thing you always have to remember is that, life is worth living! Find your purpose and fight for it. I see so much strength in you. I know you'll turn out to be the woman you're meant to be.
Forever... your loving mother, Anna
Make me proud, Ellie! [Reply]