"The Last of Us" live-action adaptation makes a strong debut
"The Last of Us" live-action adaptation makes a strong debut
Live-action television adaptations of popular video games have faced scorn recently for inaccurate adaptations; "The Last of Us" promises to do the source material justice.
Last Sunday, HBO premiered the first episode of its latest drama series, titled “The Last of Us.” For those familiar with the popular game, this adaptation has been long awaited since the announcement that came out back in Nov. 2020.
For those that may be unfamiliar, “The Last of Us” adaptation is a post-apocalyptic action/drama series based on the video game company Naughty Dog’s hit game of the same name. The series follows main characters Joel Miller, played by Pedro Pascal (“The Mandalorian”), and Ellie Williams, played by Bella Ramsey (“Game of Thrones”), and their brutal journey across a post-apocalyptic America filled with zombie and ruthless bandit encounters.
The creator and director of the original game series, Druckmann, has joined the writing and producing team of the live-action series alongside American screenwriter Craig Mazin. The addition of Druckmann assured fans that this would be a 1:1 adaptation, meaning the series storyline will follow closely to the game’s instead of deviating from the original storyline.
During the premiere, fans of the game were not shy to take to popular social media platforms such as Twitter in order to express and share their thoughts for fellow users to read.
Some of these Tweets included side-by-side screencaps and clip comparisons showing the unquestionable parallels between the live action and the gameplay. Other Tweets poked fun at other adaptations, such as Netflix’s “The Witcher” (2019) and the 2022 film “Uncharted,” for being inaccurate adaptations.
Despite having just one episode out, “The Last of Us” has already reached a 99% average Tomatometer on RottenTomatoes as well as a 9.4/10 rating on IMDb.
Episodes will continue airing on Sundays at 8 p.m. until March 12, 2023 – bringing the total number of episodes to nine.
For those who may want to get ahead of the series, watching playthroughs by popular YouTube gamers such as Markiplier and Jacksepticeye are great avenues to get a sneak peek.