Occasionally, when a movie is adapted to a video game or in this case a game being adapted to a series, fans usually have high expectations, and this is the case of The Last of Us and its first teaser released on September 26th. It caused commotion both from the fans and the people interested in watching the TV show. The teaser shows brilliant performances by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey who are interpreting Joel and Ellie respectively, places very similar to those appearing in the video game and a very good adaptation of the infected (the name for the creatures in the game). The teaser not only shows the content, but also it gives the public a glimpse of how expensive this project is being. The Last of Us will premiere on HBOMax in 2023.
Originally, The Last of Us is an action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The first game was released in 2013 causing furore in the gaming community, the game was very successful at the moment, including positive reviews and becoming in 2014 one of the best-selling PlayStation 3 games, selling approximately 3.4 million copies in 2013 and 7 million in 2014, the game also won numerous awards including “Game of The Year”. The game became so iconic that Naughty Dog released a remasterized version for PlayStation 4. In 2020, The Last of Us Part II released (after seven years) for PlayStation 4, and yet it was just as successful as the first one.
The story of The Last of Us starts with Joel who witnesses the beginning of an outbreak of a mutant Cordyceps fungus, transforming humans into aggressive creatures known as infected. As Joel, his brother Tommy and his daughter Sarah try to escape from the suburbs of Texas, Sarah dies after being shot by a soldier.
20 years later, when the United States is completely infected and the civilization is almost eradicated, the leader of the Fireflies, Marlene, asks to return a teenage girl named Ellie to Massashusets to sacrifice her, since they know Ellie is immune and has the cure for the outbreak. The game focuses on Joel escorting Ellie through the post-apocalyptic United States encountering the infected and Fireflies’ members.
Part II continues Ellie’s story set five years later after the first game. The game focuses on two playable characters, Ellie who is seeking Abby for revenge after a murder, and Abby who is a soldier and a member of the Fireflies. The game tells the story from different points of views. Likewise the first game, it focuses on fighting enemies such as the infected, the Fireflies and a religious cult using improvised weapons, stealth and firearms.
Since both games have been successful, HBO has decided to adapt it to a series, which was announced in 2020, the same year The Last of Us Part II was released. In fact, according to HBO’s synopsis, the series will follow the plot of the first game. Even though the cast is different from the video game cast, fans are excited to see Pedro Pascal as Joel since the actor has a resemblance. Marlene (Fireflies leader), will be played by Merle Dandridge who is the same actress from the video game, and Gabriel Luna as Tommy.
Thanks to the teaser, a high expectation has been created lately and The Last of Us (the series) is anticipated to be as good as the video game, otherwise both the public and fans would be disappointed if the TV show does not resemble the video game and does not fulfill their expectations.
Andrea Rich
