These days it is not uncommon to see on-screen adaptations of some works from the videogame world: just think, for example, of the recent Netflix animated series inspired by the Castelvania saga. Yet when we found out that The Last of Us would become one TV series, we were a little shaken. Of course, the news had been in the air for some time, but knowing that it was not just rumors and that someone will really take care of the realization of the live action adaptation of the masterpiece of N it caught us a bit off guard. And discover that "someone" is Craig Mazin, creator of the highly acclaimed Chernobyl series, surprised us even more. But, in our opinion, that of Ellie e Joel it is not an easy story to take outside the videogame medium and from here a big question arises: “Will the TV series on The Last of Us be as we expect? But, above all, what do we really expect? ”. So that's what we're going to talk about today: discover with us what we would like to see in the highly anticipated TV series by HBO and Craig Mazin!
Joel and Ellie's journey
Talking about The Last of Us is never easy, not so much because it has revolutionized who knows what within the gaming industry - indeed, in terms of gameplay it hasn't changed anything -, but because the narrative component has deeply affected us and us remained in the heart. Not to mention the ending: a wound that perhaps has not yet completely healed. The opening words of the masterpiece by N (which, attention, will actively collaborate in the making of the series) was, to be honest, rather trivial: the usual zombie pandemic. Furthermore, the game was released in 2013, at a time when the undead were definitely in fashion. but yet The Last of Us had that little something extra that all other titles did not have.
What the TV series from the title of Naughty Dog must know how to do, is in fact to tell the adventure of Ellie and Joel, but this is not enough: it must describe every detail, every facet must take the relationship of the two protagonists and make us feel "close". Yes, because the real center of The Last of Us isn't the epidemic, it's not the apocalyptic world, and it's not Ellie's immunity to the virus either. The center of the game is the relationship of the latter with his unusual companion and it is important that the adaptation on the screen knows how to wisely not only describe this relationship, but also be able to put us in tune with the characters, just like the video game. The title on PlayStation 3, however, started with an advantage: we were controlling Joel and it was easier to identify with him. We expect and hope that the TV series will succeed in this.
But what if the HBO product didn't retrace the plot of the first The Last of Us? In our opinion, that would certainly be a great idea. The presence of Ellie and Joel is now taken for granted, but when will the series be set? In our opinion, it would be perfect to place it in the 6 years that separate the first title by Naughty Dog from The Last of Us: Part II. In this way you would have a very good portion of time in which to tell what you want, observe the evolution of Ellie from just fourteen to adulthood and, why not, go and touch the effects that the game's ending will have on the characters.
Enemies: humans and infected
Obviously, those infected with the Cordyceps: between Runner, Clicker and Bloater our protagonists will have to face several pitfalls. We obviously expect that they will be made faithfully following the design of the original work and we would also prefer to use a good make-up to the now increasingly used CGI. It must be remembered, however, that in The Last of Us the greatest threat has always been represented by humans. We would therefore like to find a balance between the two great strains of enemies, so that the series is not reduced to yet another product about zombies or a dull copy of The Walking Dead. It would also be interesting the introduction of a human villain from the same charisma of David, a character met by Ellie and Joel in the second half of the adventure.
One thing we are pretty sure about is thatatmosphere of this TV series will be able to make us savor the post-apocalyptic world typical of the game. Craig Mazin is a bit of a guarantor in this, given the excellent work done with the series Chernobyl which, among other things, also offers a disastrous setting. Another key point of the series inspired by the events of the Ukrainian city is the rawness of some scenes, which we hope can also be revived in the TV series taken from The Last of Us.
Let us now turn to another very important point in a television work: the cast. We know what you are thinking: "Hugh Jackman as Joel would be perfect! ”. Probably yes, they are almost identical, but we consider it too easy a choice, perhaps almost trivial. Instead, we would prefer that space be given to other actors: the aforementioned protagonist could be, for example, played by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) which we think would look great. The restless young Ellie could instead be played by Kaitlyn Dever (from the Netflix series Unbelievable) or from Sophia Lillis (IT and IT: Chapter Two). An interesting alternative would be to bring to the screen a young actress, less known, who can thus establish herself in the entertainment world, a bit like what happened to Millie Bobby Brown with Stranger Things. Then there are many empty places for the characters of Tommy, brother of Joel, Marlene, Tess, Bill and many others. Given that it has also been confirmed that Ellie's sexual orientation will not be changed in the TV series, it would be interesting to see her friend, as well as first love, too. Riley.
One of the few certainties we have so far concerns the colonna sonora of the TV series. It has in fact been confirmed that he will also be collaborating with Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin and HBO Gustavo Santaolalla. The Argentine composer took care of the composition of the soundtrack of The Last of Us, giving us what it is perhaps one of the most beautiful OST ever. We therefore know that even the TV series, from this point of view, will be able to capture us as the video game did. So this is what we expect from The Last of Us TV series.
