Nerd culture as a whole has been angry with HBO for weeks now because of the network’s decision to cut back on original content and eliminate the entire series from HBO Max, but the network has done some good things recently that are worthy of praise. In addition to the premiere of HBO’s The Last of Us TV series and the premiere of the highly anticipated prequel to Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, today also marks the debut of the first footage from the latter. The first images from The Last of Us were included in a teaser clip with snippets from other HBO Originals such as The White Lotus, Doom Patrol, His Dark Materials, and Avenue 5.
As the Twitter clip comes to a close, we see Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie crossing a frozen bridge, hiding in some abandoned buildings, running in a panic, shooting some bullets, and checking out some spore-covered walls. Bill, played by Nick Offerman, is also seen taking off his gas mask. Even though the infected are conspicuously absent from the 20 seconds of film, the frightening atmosphere is set. To paraphrase Ellie: “Everyone I’ve cared about has either died or left me.” The production design, at the very least, appears to be spot on. As the series finale, it’s also clear that HBO has high hopes for the adaptation of the critically acclaimed video game series, which follows a traumatised man named Joel who must transport a young girl with a unique immunity (Ellie) across the post-apocalyptic United States after a plague turns most people into vicious zombie-like monsters.
They have to contend with both the infected and human survivors. The success of movies based on video games has been hit-or-miss in the past, but the talent behind The Last of Us offers us hope. Together with the inventor of Chernobyl, Neil Druckmann, who is also the game’s director and writer, is at the helm. Game composer Gustavo Santaolalla also scores the programme.
The show is likely to be an accurate adaptation, and with Pascal at the helm, the acting should be above average compared to that of most video game adaptations (after all, as the titular Mandalorian, he does have experience protecting a very important children through harrowing situations). The Last of Us is expected to hit theatres sometime in early 2023, though no specific date has been set. There will be a total of ten episodes in the premiere season.