According to the Verge, HBO Max’s adaptation of the critically acclaimed, 2013 post-apocalyptic drama video game: The Last of Us, has been tentatively confirmed for a release date on Sunday, January 15th, 2023. The series was filmed between July of 2021 and June of this year and is purportedly the largest television production in Canadian history (shooting principally took place in Alberta).
For anyone unaware, The Last of Us is a story which depicts the journey of Joel Miller, a survivor of a zombie outbreak which claimed the lives of roughly two-thirds of the world’s population, including his young daughter, Sarah. Twenty years later, Joel, now a supply smuggler, is tasked with escorting a very special girl by the name of Ellie across a post-apocalyptic United States to find the Fireflies, a mysterious rebel militia that just might have the necessary supplies to help Joel and Ellie finally end the undead outbreak once and for all.
The casting for the series has been known for sometime now and fans are greatly anticipating the performances from Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) as Joel, and his fellow GOT star, Bella Ramsey (Catherine Called Birdy, Becoming Elizabeth) as Ellie. Other acting talents such as Gabriel Luna (Terminator: Dark Fate, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Anna Torv (Mindhunter, The Newsreader), and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation, The Great North) are also slated to make an appearance.
Neil Druckmann (Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, What Remains of Edith Finch), the initial game’s creative director, will be returning as a co-writer alongside Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, The Hangover Part II). Gustavo Santaolalla, who also worked on the original game as its chief composer, will return to compose the series adaptation’s soundtrack.
As written by the Verge, UK entertainment studio Sky has reportedly distributed marketing materials which suggest that The Last of Us will be released to the country on January 16th, which lines up with the time zone difference between Western Europe and the U.S. For more on the The Last of Us, check out HBO Max’s exclusive teaser trailer featured below.