Neil Druckmann reveals why The Last of Us film adaptation was unsuccessful

After Druckmann and the studio executives reached an impasse, the project languished in development hell and ultimately forced Screen Gems to dump it. Fortunately, Druckmann learned from Carter Swan that Chernobyl's Craig Mazin was interested in making a live-action adaptation of the game.

Responsible for the expansion of Sony's I.P., Carter previously clashed with Druckmann in the past, and Craig Mazin's concerns about adapting the game into a film turned him into the perfect partner for Druckmann. Druckmann expressed his wish to meet Craig, saying: Wait, The Chernobyl guy? Why can't I meet with him? Conveniently, Druckmann and Craig got to work together on the upcoming series, which the game's creator has dubbed "the best, most authentic game adaptation" yet. Craig has, however, approached the project with caution, stating that that isn't a very high bar. In his words, he picked the video game with the "best story" to adapt into film, essentially gifting him the chance to do better than other adaptations. I cheated—I just took the one with the best story. Like, I love Assassin's Creed. But when they announced that they were gonna make it as a movie I was, like, I don't know how! Because the joy of it is the gameplay. The story is impenetrable. Druckmann has also expressed that discretion is important when you adapt video games, saying "[directors] think people want to see the gameplay onscreen."

An accurate illustration of this is the Doom video game series, which was adapted into the 2005 film of the same name starring Karl Urban, Rosamund Pike, and Dwayne Johnson. Craig and Druckmann agreed on this, emphasizing that some games do not need adaptations. Doom is also a perfect example of something that you don't actually need to adapt. There's nothing there that you can't generate on your own— Pedro Pascal will portray Joel, and Bella Ramsey will portray Ellie.

Although it's been a long wait to see a live-action adaptation of the popular game, fans will be grateful that the minds behind the project are not making any compromises. The series is set to premiere on HBO on January 15.