HBO has announced two of the directors that will helm episodes of the upcoming show based on gaming phenomenon The Last of Us. Oscar nominee Jasmila Zbanic and Ali Abbasi will help bring the PlayStation 3 game to the small screen alongside executive producers Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, who are writing the project.
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Kantemir Balagov is already set to direct the pilot episode. Both he and recently hired director Ali Abbasi won the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard Award in recent years. Meanwhile, Jasmila Zbanic is nominated for Best International Film at this Sunday’s Academy Awards for her work on Quo Vadis, Aida.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey star in the show, which adapts the story of Joel and Ellie traveling across the post-apocalyptic United States in a struggle for survival. The recently released The Last of Us Part 2 on PlayStation 4 became one of the fastest-selling PS4 titles of all time, clearing four million units during its release weekend. Sony’s PlayStation Productions is involved in the adaption directly, as are the original developers of the game at Naughty Dog.
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The Last of Us is just one of several high-profile video game-to-TV adaptions either already in the works or hitting screens soon. Netflix has announced new seasons of their adaptions of The Witcher and Castlevania. The streaming service also has several new gaming adaptions penciled in for 2022 and beyond, including everything from Assassin’s Creed to Splinter Cell to Tomb Raider.
In addition to Druckmann and Mazin, Carolyn Strauss, Naughty Dog president Evan Wells and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will also executive produce. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television in association with PlayStation Productions.
