Announced earlier this year, Naughty Dog’s hit zombie game “The Last of Us” was in the works as a potential series for HBO, with game creator/writer Neil Druckmann on board to co-write and produce, and we’ve learned today that the series has now been officially ordered up by HBO. And we’ve also got some plot details for you today, courtesy of Variety.
The site reports, “the series takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-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.”
In other words, the series is set to adapt the first game in the series.
Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”) is developing the series for HBO, and he’ll be working with Neil Druckmann to write and executive produce the small screen adaptation.
“Craig and Neil are visionaries in a league of their own,” Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming, said in a statement. “With them at the helm alongside the incomparable Carolyn Strauss, this series is sure to resonate with both die-hard fans of The Last of Us games and newcomers to this genre-defining saga. We’re delighted to partner with Naughty Dog, Word Games, Sony and PlayStation to adapt this epic, powerfully immersive story.”
Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog produce.