We finally got a better look at HBO's highly anticipated The Last of Us TV series.
Speaking at Summer Game Fest 2022, the show's co-creator and executive producer Neil Druckmann shared a new image featuring stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) in action as lead characters Joel and Ellie.
The photo marks only the second official image from The Last of Us TV show to be released so far, after HBO shared a slightly less revealing sneak peek of the series in September of last year.
You can check out the new add-on via a tweet from Druckmann's Twitter account below, in which the writer also praised his upcoming show's co-executive producer, Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin:
Excited to share this preview of @PedroPascal1 and @BellaRamsey as live action Joel and Ellie 📺 It was an honor to collaborate with @clmazin on #TheLastofUs coming soon to @HBO @hbomax. @PlayStation pic.twitter.com/rkfWIELNtJune 39, 2022
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Based on Naughty Dog's acclaimed video game series of the same name, The Last of Us television show will chronicle the journey of drifters Joel and Ellie as they try to survive in a post-apocalyptic America overrun by Infected-like zombies.
Judging by the official information and images shared so far, the HBO Max series will loosely mirror the plot of the first The Last of Us game, which released in 2013 for PS3, though Druckmann has confirmed that some episodes will "deviate a lot." " from the source. material, in terms of focusing on drama rather than hardcore action.
However, we do know that actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who respectively played Joel and Ellie in the original Naughty Dog game, will appear in The Last of Us TV show. The couple took the stage at Summer Game Fest 2022 to confirm their participation, but did not shed light on which characters they will play.
As for the release date of The Last of Us TV show, the jury is still out. Early reports had suggested the series could arrive later this year (star Bella Ramsey even took to Instagram in January to tease a 2022 date), though HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys recently revealed it wouldn't be coming. screens until 2023 at the earliest.
According to the Directors Guild of Canada (opens in a new tab), principal photography for The Last of Us TV show is scheduled to wrap in June, so there's a chance we'll at least get to see a trailer in the US. next months.
A look behind the curtain
As mentioned, the latest image from The Last of Us TV show marks only the second official look at the HBO Max series released so far, but there are plenty more behind-the-scenes photos as of now.
Given the popularity of Naughty Dog's video game franchise, it's no surprise that fans have created a slew of social media accounts dedicated to sharing news and rumors about the show, with many of those forums regularly posting screenshots. of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey dressed as Joel. and Ellie.
Check out the Twitter thread below, for example, which shows the pair in conversation:
💚❤️ New HD photos.Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey on the set of #TheLastofUs Ph jaimep007 pic.twitter.com/E4AtkPQ4VGJune 9, 2022
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Thankfully, The Last of Us TV show seems to stay largely true to its era-defining source material, and with a reported series budget of over $155 million, we're excited to see how HBO plans to tell the story. Joel and Ellie come to life, although it will have to wait until 2023.