HBO’s live-action HBO's The Last of Us is expected to premiere sometime in late 2022.
Though the zombie apocalypse genre may be well-worn territory, The Last of Us has a distinct aesthetic and feel that’s helped make it a hit. The story of the games is more focused on the internal journeys of Joel and Ellie, focusing more on quiet moments of emotional introspection than big action set pieces or chains of jump scares. The world of The Last of Us is quiet for the most part, which is what makes its moments of terror – both those caused by humans and the monsters who hunt them – even more unnerving.
Obviously, it’s difficult to glean much from a single image, but the first photo revealed by The Last of Us' Ellie and Joel look like perfect recreations of their video game selves, right down to their backpacks and the colors of their clothes. But more importantly, the image Druckmann chose to share is a simple one – a quiet, wasteland vista that’s beautiful despite the implied destruction. By showing this image first, HBO has made it clear that the Last of Us series is prioritizing the right things from the games – the look and feel of the world and the subtle intimacy of the lead characters, instead of the spectacle expected of a big-budget sci-fi series.
There will likely still be plenty of spectacle, of course. The games feature plenty of taught action, and much of that will surely transfer to the screen in HBO’s The Last of Us show. Ellie and Joel's journey through The Last of Us is filled with tragedies and betrayals, and if the show is to remain as close to the source material as the creators have claimed, audiences will be in for an intense ride when the series premieres on HBO.
The biggest lingering question now is how Pascal and Ramsey will play together on screen. Both stars are immensely talented, and their castings have been widely celebrated, but that doesn’t guarantee perfect chemistry. The muddled and messy relationship between Joel and Ellie is the heart of The Last of Us, and it will be the most important piece to translate effectively to HBO. But just going off the first official image, the live-action The Last of Us series looks like it’s off to a great start.