We only have six more weeks to wait for HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, one of the most decorated modern gaming franchises. Craig Mazin, who produced the smash hit HBO series Chernobyl is leading the project, and the trailer gives us the most visceral look at the show to date, having only seen glimpses in previous teasers.
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The show looks to be following the first game’s story very closely, with some additional bits and pieces strewn about. For example, early on in the trailer there’s a clip of Ellie pretending to be clicker to bring some levity. While that didn’t happen in the game, it does fit with Ellie’s character and shouldn’t seem out of place to fans of the franchise.
For those not familiar with The Last of Us, at the centre of the narrative are Joel and Ellie, played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the upcoming HBO series. Joel must escort Ellie across a post-apocalyptic version of the US in the hopes that she may be the key to protecting what’s left of the world’s population from a fungal infection that turns its victims into aggressive, zombie-like creatures known as the Infected.
At the end of the new trailer we get our first proper glimpse of one of the major foes Joel and Ellie will face – the Bloater. In the game they morph from ‘normal’ infected if they have spent a very long time in this state, and offer a major challenge, especially when surrounded by all other classes of Infected.
It is the first time HBO has invested this much love, time and money into a gaming property and they seem to have high hopes for the series. It was even included in its main reel for the hottest shows in 2023 earlier this year.
