The cat’s finally out of the bag. The long-awaited live action adaptation of The Last of Us will hit HBO Max on January 15, 2023, taking fans back to the harrowing, bitter journey of Joel and Ellie once again. The company announced the news via a Twitter post, sharing a new poster for the upcoming series. However, in what could be called a surprise-ruining blunder, the news about the show’s release was accidentally shared by the HBO Max application just a day ahead of the official communication.
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You can check out the premiere date for yourself by searching for the show on the HBO Max app. You will be greeted with a result for “The Last of Us: Season 1 Sneak Peek,” which bears a description listing that date. The description reads: “A preview of the post-apocalyptic drama series based on the critically acclaimed video game. Premieres Jan. 15.”
The first season of The Last of Us will consist of a total of nine episodes which will be released on a weekly basis. The series is all set to debut on HBO Max in the United States, while our Aussie viewers will be able to catch the show on Binge/Foxtel. Based on what we know so far, the show will narrate the events of the first game as well as include a few things from its sequel.
The Last of Us TV show will see Pedro Pascal stepping into the shoes of Joel, a smuggler entrusted with getting a teenage Ellie girl (Bella Ramsey) to safety across the post-apocalyptic US. Also involved with the HBO adaptation is original game director Neil Druckmann, acting as a co-creator along with Craig Mazin. During an interview with the BBC, Mazin said that the adaptation will dive deeper into certain story elements and won’t be an exact one-to-one interpretation of the games.
“The changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand (the story),” he said. “Not to undo, but rather to enhance.” Other actors in the series are Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel’s brother, Anna Torv, Storm Reid, Jeffrey Pierce, Nick Offerman, Nico Parker, Merle Dandridge, Murray Bartlett, and Con O’Neil.
Fans will also be treated with a cameo of Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, who played Ellie and Joel respectively, in both the PlayStation titles. But it’s currently unclear what roles they will play in the series. From what we have seen so far, HBO’s adaptation seems to nail the overall tone, the creepy Clickers and the world. The games did a very excellent job of depicting the relationship between Joel and Ellie, with its well-crafted story and splendidly written characters. We hope to relive all this and more with HBO’s The Last of Us series.
