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 BigBeauford:
Not sure if mentioned but
Spoiler!
Ellie's mom who dies in the beginning was Ashley Johnson, voice actress of Ellie from the game
Edit: haha, the scene of her dropping the ladder down for Joel is a humorous shout-out to those who played the game.
Funny... I actually thought maybe it was her sister(IRL) or something because even my wife at one point leans over and goes... is that supposed to be Ellie's mom because she looks a lot like her.
So the girl that voiced her actually looks a lot like her in the show. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
Funny... I actually thought maybe it was her sister(IRL) or something because even my wife at one point leans over and goes... is that supposed to be Ellie's mom because she looks a lot like her.
So the girl that voiced her actually looks a lot like her in the show.
I did the same thing. Thought they just made her look older to be "her mom". My wife had to look it up online to find out that no, it's a completely different actress. [Reply]
Originally Posted by BigRichard:
Funny... I actually thought maybe it was her sister(IRL) or something because even my wife at one point leans over and goes... is that supposed to be Ellie's mom because she looks a lot like her.
So the girl that voiced her actually looks a lot like her in the show.
She wasn't just the voice actress, she did the motion capture for all of the scenes and the game Ellie was loosely modeled to look like her(the actress) [Reply]
Finally started the series last weekend and just finished Season 1. Similar to my reluctance to watch Game of Thrones as I've never been into fantasy, I couldn't have been more wrong about this show. Fucking amazing and I'm officially obsessed. I had heard it was based on a video game (I don't game) and seen some brief pics that made it look like a zombie show (never watched Walking Dead). So I didn't really think it was something I'd be into. And it's obviously not a zombie show...just making the point that maybe I need to try more genres that don't immediately strike an interest with me. Because this was just awesome in every sense of the word. [Reply]
Can't wait for the fan backlash when Druckmann serves up that middle finger he served the fans who waited 7 years for the game and advertised just Joel and Ellie. He can't very well change it either, because to do so, he would have to admit that his approach was wrong. His ego simply will not allow it.
After all, this is the guy who said the fans don't matter.
It won't be as long of a wait, and there are resources fans can find to see what happens, so it wont be as catastrophic as when it came out of nowhere, but if this series follows the game and Druckmann insists he's right, people are gonna get PISSED.
He had an opportunity in the finale to make a change, to introduce a certain character, to give some context, but he stuck to how the game ended. Not a good sign.
This was a golden opportunity to introduce said character, so she's not just coming out of nowhere in the next chapter, but Druckmann is too busy huffing his own anal vapor to understand what's coming. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wallcrawler:
Can't wait for the fan backlash when Druckmann serves up that middle finger he served the fans who waited 7 years for the game and advertised just Joel and Ellie. He can't very well change it either, because to do so, he would have to admit that his approach was wrong. His ego simply will not allow it.
After all, this is the guy who said the fans don't matter.
It won't be as long of a wait, and there are resources fans can find to see what happens, so it wont be as catastrophic as when it came out of nowhere, but if this series follows the game and Druckmann insists he's right, people are gonna get PISSED.
He had an opportunity in the finale to make a change, to introduce a certain character, to give some context, but he stuck to how the game ended. Not a good sign.
This was a golden opportunity to introduce said character, so she's not just coming out of nowhere in the next chapter, but Druckmann is too busy huffing his own anal vapor to understand what's coming.
Originally Posted by dmahurin:
I would be pissed if they did change it.
Lmao. Cool story bro.
Spoiler!
If he goes the same route, that Joel Miller, who has survived nearly FORTY FUCKING YEARS in this apocalypse is all of a sudden gonna decide, out of the fucking blue to trust a group of people he's never met and follow them right into a trap like a window licking retard, then anyone who understands ANYTHING about character development and continuity is going to summarily reject this utterly stupid fucking bullshit.
It wasn't earned in any way, shape or form. It was a shock factor kill, and logic and reason were tossed aside because Druckmann couldn't be bothered to make it happen in a coherent way that made any fucking sense.
Originally Posted by Wallcrawler:
Lmao. Cool story bro.
Spoiler!
If he goes the same route, that Joel Miller, who has survived nearly FORTY FUCKING YEARS in this apocalypse is all of a sudden gonna decide, out of the fucking blue to trust a group of people he's never met and follow them right into a trap like a window licking reerun, then anyone who understands ANYTHING about character development and continuity is going to summarily reject this utterly stupid fucking bullshit.
It wasn't earned in any way, shape or form. It was a shock factor kill, and logic and reason were tossed aside because Druckmann couldn't be bothered to make it happen in a coherent way that made any fucking sense.
It's gonna be a shitshow.
The cool story bro is really rich with the amount of butt hurt in that spoiler, bro. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Wallcrawler:
Can't wait for the fan backlash when Druckmann serves up that middle finger he served the fans who waited 7 years for the game and advertised just Joel and Ellie. He can't very well change it either, because to do so, he would have to admit that his approach was wrong. His ego simply will not allow it.
After all, this is the guy who said the fans don't matter.
It won't be as long of a wait, and there are resources fans can find to see what happens, so it wont be as catastrophic as when it came out of nowhere, but if this series follows the game and Druckmann insists he's right, people are gonna get PISSED.
He had an opportunity in the finale to make a change, to introduce a certain character, to give some context, but he stuck to how the game ended. Not a good sign.
This was a golden opportunity to introduce said character, so she's not just coming out of nowhere in the next chapter, but Druckmann is too busy huffing his own anal vapor to understand what's coming.
100% on point. You'll get thumbed down for it but...
