HBO's Chief Content Officer, Casey Bloys, has revealed that from what he has seen so far, early episodes of The Last Of Us look "amazing." Created by Naughty Dog, the best-selling video game The Last Of Us tells the story of Joel Miller as he travels across an apocalyptic America, accompanied by a young girl named Ellie, who holds the key to curing those who have been infected by a parasitic brain virus. The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal will star in the Last of Us TV show adaptation as Joel, while his fellow Game of Thrones co-star, Bella Ramsey, will play Ellie, with a number of other exciting names set to make an appearance across the 10-episode series.
Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin will bring the Last of Us series to the small screen for HBO alongside the game's creator, Neil Druckmann, who will co-direct the series. Filming officially began last July, and since then The Last Of Us has been largely shrouded in mystery, with very little revealed with regards to the series' plot. Production is scheduled to continue into this summer, with each of the episodes rumored to have been given an eight-figure budget to bring the beloved video game to life. While any official teases from the series' creators have been few and far between, a number of exciting behind-the-scene set photos have made their way onto social media as The Last of Us continues to film in Canada, with many offering small glimpses as to just how true to the game the series looks to be.
Now, speaking to Deadline, Bloys, who oversees much of HBO's upcoming content, revealed that he has seen some early episodes of The Last Of Us. According to Bloys, the episodes look incredibly promising. The Chief Content Officer revealed that he is "very excited" for the show, and acknowledged Mazin's work as writer and director on Chernobyl. Bloys went on to say that so far what he has seen "looks amazing," before confirming that the Last of Us series will not release this year. Check out Bloys' full quote below.
"I have seen some early episodes and I’m very excited, Craig did Chernobyl for us, he is a fantastic writer and director. What I’ve seen looks amazing, so I’m excited for it, but it will not be in ’22."
With the exceptionally high budget that the Last of Us TV adaptation boasts, HBO appears to be pulling out all the stops to recreate its success as a video game when it transfers over to a series. From what has been teased so far, it certainly seems as though the series will follow much of the same story as the original Last of Us video game. However, it was recently revealed that one major difference would see the series set in the year 2023. This veers largely away from the game's timeline, set in 2033 as Joel and Ellie's adventures take place 20 years after the outbreak first began.
Given that filming on The Last Of Us will continue into the summer, it's exciting to hear that episodes are already being cut together and that Bloys has had the opportunity to see some footage from the series. With the intense secrecy that surrounds this show, it's likely that any form of teaser or trailer for the series is still a long way off, particularly when considering that the series' expected release date is still yet to be confirmed. The eventual release of The Last Of Us will have some incredibly high expectations to meet, but in the meantime, Bloys' comments are likely to get fans incredibly excited.
Source: Deadline