What you need to know about the serial adaptation of the cult video game
Since HBO announced in 2020 that video game Last of us will be adapted in series, first hour fans are at work! This road trip across the ruins of humanity seems perfect for the small screen. Pedro Pascal (Andor, the Mandolorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, The Dark Material) seems to be the ideal duo of actors to embody Joel and Ellie, the two main protagonists. We were able to read the concern of fans on social networks when we just learned on Thursday that the series expected this Sunday on HBO Max will be broadcast on US + 24 every week starting this Monday in France on Amazon Prime Video, as a gift to its subscribers while waiting for the arrival the entire HBO catalog. If you don’t know the game or don’t understand the hype around it Last of ushere are some elements to understand what it is and measure the magnitude of the event.
A series of shows for HBO
“I think the folks at HBO aren’t all that into gaming, but it only took 20 Minutes on Google to realize that The Last of Us is Lawrence of Arabia in video game storytelling,” series creator Craig Mazin said in an interview with Indie Wire.
After Dragon Housespin-off from Game Of Thrones, Last of us is the next big HBO series to invest in, according to the American magazine New Yorkerspharaoh envelope that exceeded 100 million dollars in the first season Last of usmore than was established for the first five seasons Game Of Thrones !
Video game card
If HBO is betting so much on this project, it’s because Last of us true video game card. Critically acclaimed – the game has been called a masterpiece – and gamers, Last of us, released in 2013 on Playsation 3, and its sequel, released in 2020 on Playstation 4, developed by studio Naughty Dog, have sold over 30 million copies. A remake of the game, titled The Last of Us Part Ireleased on September 2, 2022 on PlayStation 5, and is expected on March 3, 2023 on Microsoft Windows.
Post-apocalyptic world
The idea for the game was born from the imagination of Neil Druckmann and Bruce Straley, after seeing a BBC documentary showing an ant infected with cordyceps, a dangerous parasitic fungus.
Game plot Last of us takes place in a post-apocalyptic version of our world, several years after a pandemic caused by a fungus called cordyceps hit Earth and turned humans into “infected”, like zombies.
A charming hero duo
The game’s strength lies in its two believable and endearing main characters, Joel, a 50-year-old man hardened by adversity and physically scarred by pain, and Ellie, a young teenager who has only ever lived in the quarantine zone and admires. there isn’t any. Joel is hired to rescue 14-year-old Ellie from an oppressive quarantine zone in hopes of finding a cure for the evil plaguing the planet.
A shooting game that leaves room for emotion
What starts as a simple job as a smuggler quickly becomes a harrowing journey through the ravaged United States. As their journey and encounters with other survivors continue, these two creatures separated by everything will gradually bond and depend on each other for their survival.
This shooting game in which the player controls Joel adheres to the genre code survival horror while leaving plenty of room for emotion, all served up by a sublime soundtrack by Gustavo Santaolalla, winner of two Oscars for best film score.
Stunning graphics
Another asset of the game is its graphic wealth, from the dark dungeons of the subway underwater to the countryside, through interiors filled with rubble of abandoned houses.
Creative team on top
Neil Druckmann, the game’s director and screenwriter, attempted to make a film adaptation with horror master Sam Raimi, but the project fell through due to disagreements with the studio. He finds himself at the helm of the series with another regular in the post-apocalyptic setting, Craig Mazin, to whom we owe the series moves. Chernobyl.
On screen, alongside Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Melanie Lynskey, stars of Yellow jacketMurray Bartlett, the excellent hotel manager from season one White Lotusand Nick Offerman, the series’ unforgettable Ron Swanson Parks and Recreation.
A series that holds surprises
Neil Druckmann pointed out that the first season Last of us will basically cover the plot of the first video game… But the series Last of us has several surprises for fans of the first hour: the chronology will be modified, elements removed or added, including in particular the promise to have details regarding the contamination process related to the known fungal virus in the game. Verdict this Monday on Amazon Prime Video.
