A good adaptation of a video game? It’s an intriguing thought. Hasn’t exactly happened yet but hope is an everlasting flame and it’s rarely burned brighter than around the production of HBO’s The Last of Us. The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal and his un-helmeted face star in the upcoming series based on the hit zombie apocalypse game. But unlike a lot of zombie apocalypse scenarios, true gamers know that the real star of the The Last of Us is the heartbreaking narrative. The first teaser sure looks like it got that part right anyway.
Oh, but also, there are real stars here. In addition to Pascal, you’ve got Nick Offerman, Gabriel Luna, Storm Reid and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, the young girl who may be the key to humanity’s survival.
At its best, the game’s real strength was its focus on what happens when a mass extinction event pulls humanity apart, and what can be accomplished if we knit ourselves back together. Those were big questions when the game released in 2013, but they feel extra prescient now in the Covid era. Should be one to keep an eye on. Sooner or later, one of these video game adaptations has to be good. Right?