The first teaser of the HBO series The Last of Us was released globally on 26 September. Based on the acclaimed game franchise of the same name, the teaser promises to live up to the high expectations fans have from the show.
Ordered for production in 2020, the show has been executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann — the latter is the writer and creative director of the game as well. Joining them as executive producers are Asad Qizilbash, Carolyn Strauss, Carter Swan, Evan Wells and Rose Lam.
Developer Naughty Dog of the video game franchise joins HBO, Sony Pictures TV, PlayStation Productions and Word Games as the producer of the series.
Here are all the details about The Last of Us series
The plot
Like the game franchise, the story of The Last of Us series revolves around Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). They live in a dystopian world, where a deadly fungus has turned everyone it infected into dangerous monsters.
Joel is tasked with smuggling the 14-year-old Ellie, who is somehow immune to the fungus, out of a quarantine zone and escorting her to a lab where her blood can be studied. Their journey is long, with all sorts of dangers on the way increasingly putting their lives at risk.
Teaser shows an apocalyptic world
The teaser, however, doesn’t reveal much about the direction of the series. It shows flashes of everything — from Joel and Ellie trying to keep themselves safe from monsters. Several other characters are also shown.
Only two dialogue can be heard in the teaser, which is completely set to Hank Williams’ “Alone and Forsaken.”
“This is your chance…our best shot. Keep her alive…and you set everything right,” a quavering voice is heard saying, apparently to Joel.
The second comes at the end of the teaser. “Save who you can save,” warns a whisper.
However, several glimpses show how badly Joel and Ellie are trying to survive, whether inside dilapidated buildings or snow-covered roads.
The teaser’s bleak and tense atmosphere indicates the makers will follow the environment depicted in the game franchise.
Other cast members
Pascal is best known for starring as the titular Mandalorian in the epic Star Wars series, The Mandalorian — one of the most expensive TV shows ever made.
Ramsey, on the other hand, is well known for playing Lyanna Mormont in HBO’s Game of Thrones, whose prequel, House of the Dragon, is currently being aired on the platform.
The show will also star Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Elaine Miles, Graham Greene, Jeffrey Pierce, Keivonn Woodard, Lamar Johnson, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Nico Parker and Storm Reid.
Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson and Merle Dandridge, all of whom voiced prominent characters, including Joel and Ellie in the game, also star in the series.
HBO has not announced a date for the show but has revealed that it will premiere in 2023.
(Main and Featured images: IMDb)
Manas Sen Gupta writes at the intersection of tech, entertainment and history. His works have appeared in publications such as The Statesman, Myanmar Matters, Hindustan Times and News18/ETV. In his spare time, Manas loves studying interactive charts and topographic maps. When not doing either, he prefers reading detective fiction. Spring is his favourite season and he can happily eat a bowl of noodles any time of the day.
