Here’s a sentence I never thought I’d type: The Last of Us airs its first episode tonight on HBO and HBO Max.
It was a surreal feeling. Think about it: In a few short hours, Joel and Ellie will be introduced to the world in a whole new medium. I’m so grateful for these The team at Naughty Dog, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, PlayStation Productions, and of course the cast and crew members have helped bring us to this historic moment.
I’m especially excited that we’ve found Pedro and Bella to play our iconic leads, Joel and Ellie. I can’t wait for the world to experience their portraits and the rest of these unforgettable characters in a whole new way.
Naughty Dog co-chairman Neil Druckmann also wanted to drop by with a quick message for you:
“It has been an incredible honor (and one of the highlights of my life) to partner with Craig Mazin and the team at HBO to bring The Last of Us into a TV show. Intense pride doesn’t begin to describe my feelings about how the show went. I deeply believe that it captures the soul of the game that so many of you have come to love. As you can imagine, I’m super excited (and super nervous) for PlayStation and Naughty Dog fans to dive into the first episode and experience for myself the love the cast and crew make film devoted to this adaptation. From myself and everyone at Naughty Dog, thank you! This program exists because of your incredible passion and support! We are forever grateful! Endure and survive!”
—Neil Druckmann, Co-Chair, Naughty Dog
And another quick note for The Last of Us veterans. The HBO show follows the general rhythm of the overall story from the game and is fairly faithful in tone and spirit. But hopefully it won’t come as a shock that this isn’t a beat-by-line, beat-by-line adaptation of the game. Neil, Craig, and the production team took this opportunity to weave new characters, themes, and locations — only where they felt authentic to the characters and the world, the “soul” of The Last of Us. Sometimes this is done to expand on ideas that are only briefly explored in the game, or because it better serves the narrative structure of an episodic show.
But rest assured, The Last of Us stays true to the soul of the game. I hope you’ll join us tonight and be sure to let us know what you think!
