The 2023 television course promises to be really exciting, and it is going to start with what is probably one of the big hits of the season. I am referring to the adaptation of ‘The Last of Us’the extraordinary Naughty Dog video game, which will arrive on HBO Max on January 16 led by Neil Druckmann —creator of the original— and craig mazinresponsible for the fantastic ‘Chernobyl’.
The first of its kind?
After seeing the second production trailer, the very few doubts that could remain about the jump of Joel, Ellie and company to the cathodic medium have completely disappeared —at least as far as a server is concerned— and, after reading the statements made by those responsible for the showtrust is complete.
Craig Mazin—whose podcast ‘Scriptnotes’ is pure gold, by the way—has promised that ‘The Last of Us’ will be an experience as devastating as faithful to its source.
“I hope you don’t mind getting your heart broken over and over again…it’s all there, along with what Neil Druckmann created in the game.”
Also, the showrunner has clarified that respect for the video game is not at odds with a good handful of additions and unpublished material that will enrich the experience.
“It’s all about the journey. Everything is completely about the journey. I’ve played ‘The Last of Us’ about 12 times. I know how it ends. I love the journey. And we promise there will be surprises along the way. If you’ve played the game, you’ll love it.” I promise there are things on the way that you don’t know about and that will blow your mind.”
Neil Druckmann complemented Mazin’s words, suggesting that the unpublished material enriches his 2013 work.
“There’s written material that we didn’t get a chance to put into the game that’s in the series. So you’ll be able to see the development of these characters. It’s interesting, we’ve talked to people who have seen the full season, replayed the game and They said he’s richer after seeing her.”
One of these changes from the original will be the appearance of Frank, Bill’s partner who in the game appears only as a corpse and who we can see alive and kicking played by Murray Bartlett; actor who has promised that ‘The Last of Us’ contains “one of the best hours of television” that he has read in his career.
“The scripts I’ve worked on, one in particular, is one of the best hours of television I’ve ever read. It’s beautiful. It’s wonderfully written. It has creatures and zombies, but it’s sweet and human. I think it’s going to be very special. I haven’t seen anything yet, but I’m very proud of the work we did and I think it’s going to be really wonderful. It’s going to be wonderful.”
After decades of more or less acceptable video game adaptations, but never fully satisfactory, HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ promises to be the first major production of its kind in artistic terms. In order to confirm it —or bring us an improbable disappointment— it remains little more than a month; more than enough time to take control again and surrender to the masterpiece on PS3, PS4 or PS5. It will be by versions.
Via | Collider