Speaking on the Script Apart podcast, Druckmann said “It’s a different creative group than the one that made the games. [Co-writer] Craig [Mazin] and the other actors, and even some of the producers, are bringing some of their own sensibilities.”
Druckmann pointed to the scrapped LastUs movie – which would get notes on making the set-pieces “bigger” – as being worlds apart from the original’s game approach to replicating the intimacy of an indie movie. Thankfully, that intimacy will now be present in the HBO series.
But worry not: this is still going be The Last of Us you know and love. “The structure of The Last of Us, the underpinnings of it all there,” Druckmann re-affirms, though they’re “telling slightly different stories” using the foundation of the game series.
Co-creator Craig Mazin touched upon the tweaks to the source material in a 2020 interview with the BBC: “The changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance,” he explained at the time.
The show, it seems, is finally coming together. The Last of Us HBO series recently cast its leads: The Mandalorian actor Pedro Pascal is set to play Joel, while Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey is portraying Ellie. Gabriel Luna has been cast alongside the duo as Joel’s brother, Tommy.
The pre production is underway and the cameras will start rolling from July the release date isn’t confirmed as of now.
