HBO’s eagerly anticipated small-screen series adaptation of the superhit PlayStation game ‘The Last of Us’ is all set to start streaming on HBO Max from 15th January. In India, the series is expected to stream on the Disney+ Hotstar OTT platform from 16th January. HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ series has been in the works since the year 2020 by ‘Chernobyl’ creator Craig Mazin and the original game director Neil Druckmann.
However, some of you might be unaware of the interesting fact that before the HBO series was conceptualized, a movie based on the cult video game was also attempted. And the film was supposed to be directed by none other than ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ helmer Sam Raimi, whose directorial filmography comprises some fine films such as Tobey Maguires’ ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy and the ‘Evil Dead’ series.
The first ‘The Last of Us’ game came out in 2013 and the very next year, it was announced that the feature film adaptation will be developed by Screen Gems (of Resident Evil franchise fame). At that time, Sam Raimi’s hit fantasy film ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ had already come out earlier that year, so he too was in good form. But apparently, there were some creative differences over the film’s overall tone and treatment between Neil Druckmann, Sam Raimi, and the studio.
While Neil Druckmann wanted the film to be tonally and atmospherically as close to the game and on the lines of Coen Brothers’ aesthetic Western flick ‘No Country for Old Men’. On the other hand, the studio wanted ‘bigger and sexier’ commercial elements in the film – somewhat closer to Brad Pitt’s blockbuster ‘World War Z’.
Eventually, Sam Raimi’s ‘The Last of Us’ cinematic adaptation did not move forward. While that may have been disappointing news for the filmmakers’ loyal fans, hopes are still high about the forthcoming HBO series adaptation. Neil Druckmann has himself purportedly stated that the HBO series would be the most accurate video game adaptation of all time. So, ‘The Last of Us’ series might hopefully turn out to be even better than Sam Raimi’s movie adaptation could ever have been.
Written and directed by Neil Druckmann, the original highly rated survival-horror game ‘The Last of Us’ revolved around two principal characters Joel and Ellie and was set in the backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world full of infected creatures. The basic premise of the game was that Joel, a hardened smuggler, is hired to transport a teenager Ellie across the country, while protecting her from omnipresent dangers.
In the upcoming ‘The Last of Us’ HBO series, ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘Narcos’ actor Pedro Pascal will be essaying the role of Joel. Besides Pedro Pascal, the horror-adventure television series will also feature his ‘Game of Thrones’ co-star Bella Ramsey alongside Gabriel Luna as an ex-soldier and Joel’s younger brother Tommy.
It remains to be seen whether HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ series would make up for the foregone big-screen cinematic experience which the unmade Sam Raimi movie might have given the audiences. Who knows, ‘The Last of Us’ series might even become the best video game adaptation on-screen adaptation ever. Fingers crossed!
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