It’s finally happened: The Last of Us TV show has been officially ordered to series by HBO. The series will adapt Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed video game franchise, which follows survivors of a zombie-like virus outbreak that lays waste to modern civilization. The Last of Us is the latest announced in a recent streak of video game adaptations for streaming platforms, such as Netflix’s upcoming live-action Assassin’s Creed series.
For many years, video game adaptations have been the laughingstock of the film and TV industries. Occasional box office hits like Resident Evil and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider still couldn’t escape the harsh words of critics, and most lesser-known adaptations have been universally panned. Recently though, that trend has been changing. Streaming series have proven a more reliable format for video game stories, with shows like The Witcher and Castlevania having made real positive waves on Netflix. The Last of Us has been praised particularly for its powerful narrative, and rumors of a film or show have circulated for some time. Earlier this year, it was reported that a Last of Us show was in the works for HBO and now it's taking a major step forward.
HBO has officially ordered The Last of Us TV show to series. The series pitch focuses on main characters Ellie and Joel, and it sounds like the plot of at least the first season will directly follow the beats of the original game. The show will be headed-up by Chernobyl executive producer Craig Mazin, HBO veteran Carolyn Strauss, and Neil Druckmann - writer and creative director of the games themselves, who will also be writing the show.
Druckmann's direct involvement should appease some of the natural wariness fans might have. While game adaptations have been heading in a more positive direction lately, the medium’s history is still laden with failed projects. That becomes particularly tricky with The Last of Us because of how polarizing the recently released sequel has been for fans of the original, with some celebrating it as another masterpiece, and others wanting to deny its existence altogether.
With that in mind, it’s probably a good thing that the HBO series will start off by adapting the first game, whose story and characters have already been proven hits. Depending on the reception to the initial run, there’s potential for the show to either continue into The Last of Us Part II, or to go off into entirely original material. The colossal success of The Walking Dead has shown there’s certainly a major audience for zombie-style content in the serialized space, and it should be fascinating to see what HBO’s The Last of Us actually turns out to be.
Source: HBO