“The Last of Us” series from HBO with “Chernobyl”‘s Craig Marzin and Neil Druckmann

The Last of Us will be getting a television series adaptation with HBO, featuring Craig Mazin – creator of acclaimed limited series Chernobyl – and Neil Druckmann – writer and creative director of TLOU – on board. Caroyln Strauss will be executive producer alongside Evan Wells, president of Naughty Dog. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television in association with Playstation Productions, also the first television series from the latter.

This project joins The Witcher on Netflix and in-production Final Fantasy XIV live-action series as other television adaptations of games, granted The Witcher was also originally from novels. The Last of Us on HBO will see the journey of Joel and Ellie through the original game. There may also be the possibility additional content from The Last of Us Part II, which is slated for 29 May release.

“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.”
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Craig Mazin

Druckmann himself has expressed his “excitement to work one of his [my] favourite writers” via a Tweet.

I can’t believe we get to team up with one of my favorite writers to bring Ellie and Joel’s journey to HBO. https://t.co/GNsl0sUVSK

— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) March 5, 2020

“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.”

“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.”

Neil Druckmann

The 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 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.”

Casey Bloys – HBO programming president

Druckmann is a longtime vet of Naughty Dog, since starting as a programming intern in 2004. He became Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune‘s game designer in 2007, before The Last of Us in 2013. Mazin’s Chernobyl is considered a must-see show on HBO, taking on a bleak, complex true-life event to screen. The show won Emmy for outstanding limited series and landed one for Mazin for outstanding writing, also earning him a PGA award and WGA award.

“This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions. 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.”

Chris Parnell – co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios

via Hollywood Reporter