Why fans are hesitant to watch HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’
A first look at HBO’s upcoming series The Last of Us has been revealed, which is of course based on the popular video game series. The show takes place years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly fungus. Joel, a survivor with a sad past, is hired to smuggle the young Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey with many revealed secrets.
BREAKING: The first official image from HBO’s The Last of Us series is here! #TLOUDay https://t.co/V22xeX302m pic.twitter.com/6Axt9PAWbL
— IGN (@IGN) September 27, 2021
The show stars Game of Thrones Pedro Pascal as well as Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey as Joel & Ellie. As well, the cast also includes Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter Sarah, and Merle Dandridge reprises her video game performance of Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies resistance group struggling for power against the government’s military regime.
The Last of Us is still in production with no current release date announced. However, while we have a vague idea of the upcoming series’ story, we’re curious just how close it will stay faithful to the plotline of the first two games. Equally, why are some fans of this video game series hesitant to watch The Last of Us on HBO? Let’s delve in.
The Last of Us
The first game in the series was released in 2013, and was met with much praise from both gamers & critics. The Last of Us was developed by Naughty Dog and was published by Sony Computer Entertainment. The development of the game, which kicked off in 2009, was the effort of Naughty Dog splitting up into two teams for the first time in their history, with half working on this game while the other worked on Uncharted 3.
The Last of Us told the story of Joel, a man who has experienced quite a bit of tragedy in his own life who is tasked with escorting the young teenage Ellie across the post-apocalyptic United States in the wake of a zombie-like apocalypse. The gamer plays the role of Joel from a third-person perspective, using weapons & stealth to protect Ellie while maneuvering through dangerous territories, with plenty of twists along the way.
The Last of Us: Part 2
The long-anticipated sequel to the game was released in 2020, with its story set five years after the events of the first game. The game, again played from the third-person perspective, tells the story of Ellie, who is facing the repercussions set in place after the events of the first game, and Abby, a conflicted soldier who’s forced to choose between her militia and a cult, whose lives intertwine in ways nobody could’ve predicted.
It is not yet clear if this storyline will be incorporated into the current HBO series in development or will have to wait its turn in a potential season two.
Fan hesitancy?
The show should turn out to be amazing, giving HBO’s track record as well as this stellar cast and production team. So, why are so many people concerned about HBO’s The Last of Us? Well, much similar to fans of hit novels, faithful adaptations of a beloved property are hard to come by, and while it’s understandable to explore certain creative avenues to make the show work for other mediums, will HBO royally screw this up?
Need not worry, friends. Do not dwell on the “what if’s” until we’ve actually gotten a good look at some of the footage for the show, or at least a full trailer. The Last of Us is shaping out to be a wonderful and exciting project, hopefully breaking the “video game curse” in which 2018s Tomb Raider came oh so close to achieving. Trust HBO’s track record and let’s move along.
