The first look at HBO’s “The Last of Us” TV series, starring Pedro Pascal, has been revealed.
Based on the popular PlayStation video game of the same name, the HBO series takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly fungus. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, played by “Game of Thrones” actor Bella Ramsey, 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.
Naughty Dog, the video game developer and a producer on the TV series, released the very first image from the show on Sunday evening. Pascal and Ramsey, shown from the back, are near perfect matches to Joel and Ellie from the video game, down to their rugged clothes and worn-out backpacks. The two are gazing out at a grassy hill, where destroyed plane remains litter the countryside.
Look for the light @HBO #TLOUDay pic.twitter.com/fl5ZCP7MG7
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) September 27, 2021
The cast includes Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah, and Merle Dandridge reprises her video game role of Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies resistance group struggling for power against the government’s military regime.
“Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin will write and executive produce “The Last of Us,” along with Neil Druckmann, a writer and creative director for the video game. Carolyn Strauss, Rose Lam, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will also executive produce. Kantemir Balagov will direct the pilot, with Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi also attached to direct. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog.
“The Last of Us” is currently in production, with no release date announced yet.
