HBO - The Last of Us

[Sure-Oz]

@HBO: Look for the light.

@clmazin and @Neil_Druckmann to develop the series adaptation of #TheLastOfUs, coming soon to HBO: http://itsh.bo/thelastofus https://twitter.com/HBO/status/12356...572032/video/1

The Last of Us' Series in the Works at HBO From 'Chernobyl' Creator Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann (Exclusive)

MARCH 05, 2020 9:30AMby*Borys Kit, Patrick Shanley

Craig Mazin, the creator of the acclaimed limited series*Chernobyl,*is reteaming with HBO adapt*The Last of Us, the massive Sony PlayStation video game franchise.
In a rare development in the world of video game adaptations, the writer and creative director of the game, Neil Druckmann, is also involved, and will work with Mazin to pen and executive produce what is intended to be a series.

Carolyn Strauss will also executive produce along with Evan Wells, the president of Naughty Dog, the Santa Monica-based developer of the game. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and in association with PlayStation Productions and it will be the first television series from PlayStation Productions.
Originally launched in 2013, Sony and Naughty Dog’s*The Last of Us*garnered critical praise for its engrossing tale of the post-apocalypse centered on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be a key to a cure for the deadly pandemic.
Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival. The HBO series will cover the events of the original game, which was written by Druckmann, with the possibility of additional content based on the forthcoming game sequel,*The Last of Us Part II, which will release on May 29, 2020.
Mazin, who is said to be an avid player of the game, stated, “Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and*The Last of Us*is his magnum opus. Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”
“From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of*The Last of Us,” said Druckmann in a statement. “With*Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of*The Last of Us*to life as a television show.”
Last of Us*won numerous “game of the year” awards and went on to sell more than 17 million copies across both its original release on the PlayStation 3 and a remastered version on the PlayStation 4.
“This is an incredibly exciting opportunity for us to partner with Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the teams at Sony, Naughty Dog and PlayStation to bring the virtual world of this acclaimed game to life,” stated HBO programming president Casey Bloys.
“This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions,” said Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios.*The Last of Us*is a brilliant achievement in storytelling and character development, and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team to adapt it.”
Druckmann is a longtime vet of Naughty Dog, starting as a programming intern in 2004. In 2007, he was given the role of game designer on*Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, the first installment in the action adventure series. In 2013, he created*The Last of Us, based on a concept he developed as a student at Carnegie Mellon University.
Mazin’s*Chernobyl*tackled a bleak and complex true-life event and became a must-see show for HBO. The show won an Emmy for outstanding limited series and landed one for Mazin for outstanding writing. Mazin also won a PGA and a WGA Award.


Holy shit this is gonna be awesome.

[SuperChief]

If you watch the "Behind the Episode" for Ep 3, you'll see Druckmann mention when the show story would deviate from the video game story. He mentions when it's able to be clearly better - and in this instance, I think they nailed it. While there is a clear deviation from the game story (and as much as I would have liked to see BxE interaction as in the game), I thought it was so artfully done and really impactful.

[Sassy Squatch]

If they're willing to not stay to a strict one to one retelling of the games exactly I really hope they tell the narrative of TLOU 2 in chronological order instead of the constant flashbacks. Do that and take a bit more time fleshing out some of the side players and I think Druckmann could go an incredibly long way to redeeming what so many disliked about the games narrative.

[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by Superturtle

If they're willing to not stay to a strict one to one retelling of the games exactly I really hope they tell the narrative of TLOU 2 in chronological order instead of the constant flashbacks. Do that and take a bit more time fleshing out some of the side players and I think Druckmann could go an incredibly long way to redeeming what so many disliked about the games narrative.

You're still going to get the people hating on it for the simple fact that it has anything gay involved.

[staylor26]

Easily the worst episode, but still solid.

[Sure-Oz]

Originally Posted by SuperChief

If you watch the "Behind the Episode" for Ep 3, you'll see Druckmann mention when the show story would deviate from the video game story. He mentions when it's able to be clearly better - and in this instance, I think they nailed it. While there is a clear deviation from the game story (and as much as I would have liked to see BxE interaction as in the game), I thought it was so artfully done and really impactful.

Agreed...this show seems like a directors cut to the video game in a sense. Loving it.

[Gravedigger]

I don't agree with the deviation.

Spoiler!

It was a beautiful episode, but that's not Bill. You never meet Frank in the game, and Frank in the show was done extremely well, but Nick Offerman wasn't Bill from the video game. That's a whole new character they made, the other showrunner Mazin or whatever said in the behind the episode, at least implied that it was his decision to change it to that story. I wanted the badass Bill who cuts infected's heads off with a machete, who you race through a booby trapped town and school to find that car battery, that's not what was presented here, and I disagree with Druckmann and will say it wasn't better. IMO it was a Last of Us Part II type of desecration of a amazing character. Different, beautiful, but not better given the story, and it wasted the character of Bill. That was a beautiful gay couple in the middle of the apocalypse with a somber end, but I don't see how you quantify changing an entire character's story and say it's better. Small deviations like Tess and the clickers makes more sense, this doesn't. Just my opinion. If you presented that story as the backstory to Bill, but then gave us badass Bill after Frank's death, then that makes sense. Bill in the game wasn't willing to give his life if Frank wasn't in it, that wasn't Bill. It ticks me off as well because if that's the story they'll go with in the game, it eliminates Bill returning and becomes canon, even though in the game Bill is still alive and he isn't in the second game. But if you adapt a third part story, from a third part video game, it'd be hard to justify Bill not existing in the game and killing him. Any continuity with the show ended on that episode, the got the first two mostly right, but that episode was nothing like the game except for a few lines. This would be like to me if in the Uncharted movie that was recently released they killed off Mark Wahlberg and said it was better... but Sully doesn't die in the game and is an integral part to the story's progression, here in the show, Bill just becomes a house with alot of gear and a shower for Joel and Ellie. The fact that Ellie and Bill don't even get to have interactions with each other is a pretty glaring misstep. I know everyone online says this episode was great, which it was, but it wasn't the Last of Us. I'm glad we get back on track next week hopefully.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Man, Im so mad. I was told by everyone this isn't just another zombie show. What the **** would you call it then? What is so original about it?

They also should have killed the ugly girl instead of the black daughter and switched roles. She looks like she was hit in the face by a log chain.

This is so incredibly creepy bro. Why the **** would you care if a little girl is ugly. The only reason I can think of is really peedo, so I'm not gonna say it, but damn you creepy.

[dlphg9]

Originally Posted by srvy

Why don't you have any self-control? Why do you expect that there won't be someone giving away a plot in a thread full of people you don't know? There is always someone posting shit that giveaway a plot in just about all of these things. If you are such a simpleton and afraid that someone will spoil it for you why even go to this thread until you have seen all the series. Protect yourself entitled lil tike nobody should have to do it for you.

Hey I bet you can probably happen on a game tread here or anywhere that will give away the plot also.

Holy shit, it's ****ing insane how out of touch you are. I'd recommend doing a mental cognizance test, but you've been this stupid as long as I've been on here. You're comparing people spoiling what's going on in the game during a GDT to spoiling things that haven't happened in a TV series. I thought you were trying to me at first, but holy shit you actually believe the shit that you spew out. I can only imagine the shit you flip out about IRL and how much everyone around you hates you.

[Bowser]

Originally Posted by BWillie

Im a man, im almost 40. I don't play video games

BWillieGundy

[WhawhaWhat]

Originally Posted by Gravedigger

I don't agree with the deviation.

Spoiler!

It was a beautiful episode, but that's not Bill. You never meet Frank in the game, and Frank in the show was done extremely well, but Nick Offerman wasn't Bill from the video game. That's a whole new character they made, the other showrunner Mazin or whatever said in the behind the episode, at least implied that it was his decision to change it to that story. I wanted the badass Bill who cuts infected's heads off with a machete, who you race through a booby trapped town and school to find that car battery, that's not what was presented here, and I disagree with Druckmann and will say it wasn't better. IMO it was a Last of Us Part II type of desecration of a amazing character. Different, beautiful, but not better given the story, and it wasted the character of Bill. That was a beautiful gay couple in the middle of the apocalypse with a somber end, but I don't see how you quantify changing an entire character's story and say it's better. Small deviations like Tess and the clickers makes more sense, this doesn't. Just my opinion. If you presented that story as the backstory to Bill, but then gave us badass Bill after Frank's death, then that makes sense. Bill in the game wasn't willing to give his life if Frank wasn't in it, that wasn't Bill. It ticks me off as well because if that's the story they'll go with in the game, it eliminates Bill returning and becomes canon, even though in the game Bill is still alive and he isn't in the second game. But if you adapt a third part story, from a third part video game, it'd be hard to justify Bill not existing in the game and killing him. Any continuity with the show ended on that episode, the got the first two mostly right, but that episode was nothing like the game except for a few lines. This would be like to me if in the Uncharted movie that was recently released they killed off Mark Wahlberg and said it was better... but Sully doesn't die in the game and is an integral part to the story's progression, here in the show, Bill just becomes a house with alot of gear and a shower for Joel and Ellie. The fact that Ellie and Bill don't even get to have interactions with each other is a pretty glaring misstep. I know everyone online says this episode was great, which it was, but it wasn't the Last of Us. I'm glad we get back on track next week hopefully.

Spoiler!

It was so much better in the show because Bill and Frank and the town are what Joel and Ellie and fighting for. The houses, the stores and the garden are a glimpse into what normalcy was. That's why Ellie was so wide-eyed and curious because she's never seen anything normal.

The most important part in the show is the letter. Bill's words give Joel purpose and the ability to open up to Ellie, little by little obviously. He's no longer to just dragging a kid along to a drop off point. Her journey is now his journey.

The game was just a stop in an awful town and let's be honest Bill isn't really a great person either. Honestly running around trying to find car parts in the TV show would have been a huge waste of time.

[keg in kc]

You know, as uncomfortable as it was watching gay Ron Swanson sex scenes, that was another ****ing great episode

[Stryker]

Ok, we may not like (although I do not care - let people be who they want to be - I am non biased to white and black lovers nor do I care about same sex lovers - be who you want to be!) what was presented on the masses scale but, it did not bother me in the least.

This episode was a love story in a lonely world - the tag line was, in a world of loneliness, LOVE can be found. Love is what makes life worth living - regardless.

I love my wife and would do anything for her. As she watched me watching this episode last night, she commended me for watching the episode through the end. I responded, why? This show is brilliant! It strayed from the actual game but, it was an incredible episode! This EPISODE was VIEWED the MOST of the 3 episodes recorded so far. I have to admit - It was incredible and well done!

[A Salt Weapon]

I was really looking forward to the interactions between Bill and Ellie. Quite funny in the game and I think the actress would have killed it if given the chance.

[TwistedChief]

That was a truly exceptional episode. Standalone to the game and everything else.

This is really very, very high end television.

[DrunkBassGuitar]

Bill breaking down when frank told him his wishes was pretty brutal