HBO Is Making The Last of Us TV Show in Collaboration With Naughty Dog

Game ZXC

By Rory Young

Published Mar 5, 2020

The Last of Us Part 2 is on track to release for PlayStation 4 on May 27, and it's one of the most highly anticipated releases of 2020. That is to say that The Last of Us's brand value is at a peak right now, and the director of both The Last of Us and its sequel, Neil Druckmann, is now looking to expand its reach even further, taking it out of the gaming medium and into television. HBO is now confirmed to be working with Druckmann to create a The Last of Us TV show.

The new show will reportedly feature Neil Druckmann as a main writer, and he will work with Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO's prestigious Chernobyl. The show will also be produced in partnership between Naughty Dog and HBO, and Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions will co-produce the television series for HBO.

Druckmann has only made a short comment regarding the announcement. He posted on Twitter that Ellie and Joel will be "heading to HBO!" Before that happens, he notes, "we got a little game to finish." It's safe to say that The Last of Us Part 2 remains the priority for Druckmann and Naughty Dog. With its launch just a few short months away, though, Druckmann can certainly begin plotting out what comes next.

While it is possible that the show will cover the events of just the first The Last of Us game, it could also go beyond that. For example, the show could touch on Ellie's relationship with Ripley from the Left Behind expansion and comic. Since Druckmann appears to be writing the show only after The Last of Us Part 2 is finished, content from the sequel could also find its way into the script.

A final detail has since been confirmed by IGN regarding the upcoming The Last of Us television show for HBO. Apparently, the show isn't going to be made in tandem with the previously-announced The Last of Us movie, and it will instead replace it altogether. Funnily enough, in 2018 Druckmann said that Naughty Dog wasn't interested in "direct adaptations" of The Last of Us. Perhaps he's changed his mind now that he's directly involved with The Last of Us TV show.