The Last of Us HBO adaptation is inching closer and closer to completion, and during Summer Game Fest 2022, we got our first look at a shot from the show, as well as some new details about its cast.
Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, the actors that portray Joel and Ellie respectively in the games, are going to appear in the HBO adaptation. Speaking on stage, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann says that these aren’t cameos, but instead “real roles” that will be important to the story. Baker and Johnson aren’t reprising their roles, however, with Pedro Pascal playing Joel and Bella Ramsey playing Ellie.
The first shot from the series was revealed on stage, showing Pascal and Ramsey in their roles.
The series is being helmed by Chernobyl creator and writer, Craig Mazin, with Druckmann also acting as co-creator, writer, and director. Druckmann revealed that he directed one of the show’s episodes, with Kantemir Balagov, Jasmila Žbanić, Ali Abbasi, Peter Hoar, Jeremy Webb, and Liza Johnson also taking up directorial duties across the season. The show is scheduled to wrap filming tomorrow, June 10. A premiere date for the series has not yet been shared.
The original game is getting a remake fairly soon, though, with The Last of Us Part 1 launching on PlayStation 5 on September 2. A PC version will launch at a later date. Naughty Dog also revealed that it has spun-off its Factions multiplayer component for The Last of Us Part 2 into a standalone game, with plans to talk more about the project in 2023.