HBO is adapting video game ‘The Last of Us’ into a TV series, ‘Chernobyl’ creator Craig Mazin on board

The show will be produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions, and also has the game’s co-director and writer Neil Druckmann on board

March 06, 2020 02:05 pm | Updated 02:06 pm IST

‘The Last Of Us’ is one of the most successful video games of all time

‘The Last Of Us’ is one of the most successful video games of all time

HBO has left video game fans across the world stunned at its most recent announcement: the decision to adapt the hugely-successful survival horror video game The Last of Us , along with Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions, into a TV show.

A project long in the running, fans of the game have been waiting for years for news of this official announcement, after several former collaborations to do the same fell through.

Now, the game will be adapted by The Last of Us co-director and writer Neil Druckmann, as well as Craig Mazin, who will once again work with HBO after the critical success of Chernobyl, states The Hollywood Reporter. Mazin who has an extensive body of work — The Hangover II, The Hangover III, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War — has created, written, and executive produced Chernobyl .

“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig, I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative, and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us. With Chernobyl , Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show,” Druckmann said in a prepared statement.

Mazin, on his part, said that Druckmann was the “finest storyteller working in the video game medium” and the game as his “magnum opus.”

The Last of Us follows the journey of Joel, a smuggler with a dark past who is travelling across post-apocalyptic US, along with a 14-year-old girl Ellie, who he has to deliver safely as she maybe the answer to cure a deadly pandemic that is turning people into monsters. The immersive experience and movie-like events of the title has won it many ‘Game of The Year’ awards and has sold over 17 million copies across both its original release on the PlayStation 3 and a remastered version on PlayStation 4.

The TV adaptation will be produced by Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions (the first TV show from the latter). An announcement is expected to be made about the cast and crew in the coming months.

Meanwhile, the sequel to the game, The Last of Us Part II , is scheduled to released May 29, and the TV show could also feature additional content from the second game as well.

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