After the announcement of the series, co-produced between HBO and Naughty Dog, we reviewed what was about to be a movie, but it did not come to fruition.
The news jumped at the end of Thursday afternoon: The Last of Us was going to have an adaptation to the world of television. Craig Mazin, known for being Chernobyl's showrunner, confirmed that the British producer HBO had taken the rights to move, along with creative director Neil Druckmann, the PlayStation and Naughty Dog license. Apart from what has already been confirmed, what about the film also confirmed?
The trunk of memories; clashes of ideas and lack of consensus
We have to go back to 2014, when, after confirming plans to bring the world of The Last of Us to the big screen, Neil Druckmann offered new details during the British BAFTA gala. As he wielded, it was going to be a direct adaptation of the story we already knew in the original PS3 game a year earlier; with Joel and Ellie. "We're just brushing the surface," he said, recognizing that they were trying to fit a story of a dozen hours in just an hour and a half.
The Last of Us | Naughty dog
If we traveled to 2016, with two years of practically empty around intellectual property — Naughty Dog was immersed in Uncharted 4: The Thief's End — the also screenwriter Neil Druckmann confirmed what seemed an open secret: the project had not advanced at all, he was in a completely embryonic process. In fact, at that time the Uncharted movie, planned for 2017, seemed to be more advanced. That movie has also undergone multiple changes, to the point of having been restarted and now planned as a release in theaters in 2021 with Uncharted 4 as a great inspiration.
Although occasionally they received sketches and ideas from Sony, those scripts did not quite convince the Californian studio. “We tell them what works and what doesn't. That is all for now". And so things remained.
Creative discrepancies ended up being another of the fundamental points of that lack of consensus. Sam Raimi, director and producer of major productions such as the Spider-Man trilogy with Sony at the beginning of the century, recognized IGN as a producer at the end of 2016 that the constant delays were not so much due to the inability of both parties to move The Last of Us to the cinema, but from the constant discussions between Druckmann and Sony. Different visions, different objectives and, above all, an idea of direction that clashed frontally.
Neil Druckmann (left) and Sam Raimi (right) during the ComicCon 2014 held in San Diego.
"It is in a stalemate," he said. They had Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) almost confirmed for the cast, but Neil was "at odds with them," referring to Sony. "They had their own plans, which were different from the ones Neil had." However, the situation was going through an increasingly "unfortunate" aspect, as they did not reach an agreement with Sony, which had deposited tasks of responsibility to a Raimi that remained in the middle of everything.
News: possible definitive cancellation
Although it was never publicly said that The Last of Us movie was canceled, the lack of news from Sony Pictures and the development of The Last of Us Part II as a fundamental pillar of the studio since then, made this cinematic idea disappear, almost completely, from the map.
The Last of Us Part II will launch on PS4 this May 29 on PS4.
And that is where we are now. After hearing the news of PlayStation Productions, from the North American portal IGN they claim to have sources that confirm that this HBO television series will replace the film. Sony has not confirmed or denied this information, but it should be noted that it is not official until the Japanese publisher says otherwise. Apparently, Sony has decided to cut for the sake and move forward with this adaptation to the small screen, thus refusing its plans to continue a story that already had six years without advancing.
What leaves no room for doubt is that The Last of Us Part II is practically here. The game, confirmed for PlayStation 4, will be a reality on Sony's current domestic platform this May 29. FreeGameTips has already been able to play it for several hours.
