A first look at HBO’s television adaptation of the popular video game franchise The Last of Us was recently shared to social media by the game’s developer.
Posted to Naughty Dog’s own Twitter account, the still shows stars Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel, and the younger Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, walking across a grassy terrain.
Shown from behind, the two can be seen looking in the direction of plane wreckage resting on a hillside.
Look for the light @HBO #TLOUDay pic.twitter.com/fl5ZCP7MG7
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 27, 2021
Thanks to how closely the vivid image resembles the dystopia of the game, this single preview still has already earned the series credit among fans for how well it will purportedly mirror its antecedent source material
For those who haven’t played them, The Last of Us games follow Joel, a survivor and smuggler who develops a bond with the young Ellie after he’s assigned to shepherd her through American wasteland in the aftermath of a fungal infection that turned humans into mutant zombies 20 years before the events within the story.
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Joel also has a daughter who is played in the series by British teen actress Nico Parker, who was last seen in Dumbo, and a brother who will be portrayed by Terminator: Dark Fate and Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. actor Gabriel Luna. These characters interact before the outbreak, so it’s likely Parker, Luna, and Pascal will probably share a few scenes.
In a twist of fate, Pascal and Ramsey both previously starred in Game of Thrones, though they never got the chance to work together until now. Pascal’s character, Oberyn Martell, was killed off brutally in a confrontation with The Mountain before Ramsey joined the show in her breakout role as Lyanna Mormont.
HBO’s Last of Us will also star Fringe’s Anna Torv as Joel’s smuggling partner Tess and Con O’Neill as Joel’s roommate and fellow survivalist Bill.
Additionally, the series will see the return of two actors who starred in the games – Merle Dandridge, who will reprise her role as resistance leader Marlene, and Jeffrey Pierce, who will shift from playing Joel’s brother Tommy to an original character named Perry.
The Last of Us series writer and director Neil Druckmann is developing the adaptation for HBO with Craig Mazin and will co-write all ten episodes of the first season with Mazin. The pilot will be directed by Russian film director Kantemir Balagov, but Druckmann is set to direct several of the episodes himself.
HBO is looking to have a big hit on their hands with The Last of Us when it premieres at some point in 2022.
What do you make of this first look at HBO Max’s The Last of Us? Let us know your thoughts on social media or in the comments down below!