HBO was always going to deliver with its live-action adaptation of The Last of Us. However, there’s a difference between knowing it will happen and seeing it in action. Even if HBO’s The Last of Us is still a little over a month away from dropping on HBO’s bespoke cable TV and streaming platform, the official trailer doesn’t just look good – it looks authentic.
More importantly, it captures the pervasive hopeless feeling in the video games, perhaps much more so than the initial trailer that came out a few months back.
HBO’s release of the full and official trailer of its TV show adaptation of The Last of Us came out of nowhere. Most were likely expecting it to be showcased at The Game Awards next week. After all, it was at another Geoff Keighley event when we found out that The Last of Us Part 1 was real.
Having said that, we only have praise for the performance of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the trailer. The former does an excellent job of portraying a bitter and cold Joel. We have to admit, it’s nice seeing Pascal without his Mandalorian helmet on as well. Meanwhile, the latter nails her role as a more innocent and hopeful Ellie. Fingers crossed, she’ll find a way to channel her inner Lyanna Mormont when it’s time to see her portray the more mature and vengeful version in future seasons.
Similar to the original 2013 game (and its 2022 remake), The Last of Us TV show will tell the story of a post-apocalyptic cross-country roundtrip of an unlikely pair as Joel shuffles Ellie across several infected cities in the hopes of delivering her to a place where she can help rid the world of a deadly disease. But, while the narrative-driven game laid a solid foundation for HBO to follow, it will deviate in some ways as well.
Don’t worry though, this is all with the blessing of Neil Druckmann, who’s signed on as one of its creators and writers alongside award-winning Chernobyl creator, Craig Mazin.
We’ll find out more about whether HBO’s The Last of Us will be a huge hit like its award-winning source material on January 15.
Speaking of The Last of Us, gaming fans are still waiting on the PC port The Last of Us Part 1. Finally, reports suggest that Naughty Dog is working on a multiplayer spin-off.
