We finally got a better look at HBO’s long-awaited The Last of Us TV series.
Speaking at Summer Game Fest 2022, the show’s co-creator and executive producer Neil Druckmann shared a new image with stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) in action as lead characters Joel and Ellie. .
The photo marks just the second official image from The Last of Us TV show to be released so far, after HBO shared a slightly less revealing teaser of the series in September of last year.
You can check out the new photo via a tweet from Druckmann’s Twitter account below, in which the writer also praised his co-executive producer on the upcoming show, Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin:
Excited to share this preview of @PedroPascal1 and @BellaRamsey as Joel and Ellie’s live action 📺It was an honor to collaborate with @clmazin on #TheLastofUs coming soon to @HBO @hbomax. @PlayStation pic.twitter.com/rkfWELNt3June 9, 2022
Based on Naughty Dog’s acclaimed video game series of the same name, The Last of Us TV show will chronicle the journey of wanderers Joel and Ellie as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic America overrun by the Infected zombies.
Judging by the official information and images shared so far, the HBO Max series will loosely reflect the plot of the first The Last of Us game – which came out in 2013 on PS3 – although Druckmann has confirmed that some episodes will “deviate”. much” of the source material, in terms of focusing on drama over hardcore action.
However, we do know that actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson – who voiced Joel and Ellie, respectively, in the original Naughty Dog game – will appear in The Last of Us TV show. The duo took the stage at Summer Game Fest 2022 to confirm their involvement, but did not clarify the characters they will play.
As for when The Last of Us TV show will be released, the jury is still out. Early reports suggested the series could arrive later this year (star Bella Ramsey even took to Instagram in January to tease a 2022 date), although HBO Chief Content Officer Casey Bloys recently revealed it won’t be hitting screens. until 2023 at least.
According to Canada Directors Association (opens in new tab)principal photography on The Last of Us TV show is set to end in June – so there’s a chance we could at least get a trailer in the next few months.
A peek behind the curtain
As mentioned, the latest image from The Last of Us TV show marks just the second official look at the HBO Max series released to the public so far – but there are a lot more behind-the-scenes photos.
Given the popularity of Naughty Dog’s video game franchise, it’s no wonder fans have created a number of social media accounts dedicated to sharing news and rumors surrounding the show, and many of these forums regularly post footage of Pedro Pascal and Bella. Ramsey in costume as Joel and Ellie.
Check out the Twitter thread below, for example, which shows the pair in conversation:
💚❤️ New HD photos.Pedro Pascal & Bella Ramsey on the set of #TheLastofUs Ph jaimep007 pic.twitter.com/E4AtkPQ4VGJune 9, 2022
Thankfully, The Last of Us TV show looks like it will stay true to the era-defining source material, and with a budget of over $155 million, we’re excited to see how HBO plans to bring the harrowing story of Joel and Ellie for life – even if we have to wait until 2023.