Chernobyl creator adapting The Last of Us for HBO

This sounds almost too good to be true. Craig Mazin, the guy behind HBO’s terrific miniseries Chernobyl, is teaming up with Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of Sony’s 2013 hit video game The Last of Us, to adapt the game for the small screen, on HBO. Color me very excited.

The Last of Us tells the story of Joel and Ellie, a pair of survivors in a post-apocalyptic landscape who must journey across the United States. The 14-year-old Ellie, you see, is resistant to the fungus that has turned many people around the world into aggressive creatures known as the Infected, and it’s the middle-aged Joel’s mission to escort her to a place where her ability can be used to maybe save humanity.

Now, that might just sound like another zombie story…and it is that, but The Last of Us separated itself from the pack with sensitive writing and excellent performances, as well as a wonderful sense of pace and place. Video game adaptations have a reputation for being pretty crappy, and that reputation isn’t entirely undeserved, but this looks like a real push to do one right. I mean, you’ve got the Chernobyl guy working with the man who wrote the actual game to make a show for HBO. The signs are definitely good.

“Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus,” Mazin said in a statement. “Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I’m so honored to do it in partnership with Neil.”

Druckmann sounds pretty enthused, too. “From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us,” he said. “With Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn’t think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show.”

As for who might play Joel and Ellie, we don’t know, but I have my ideas:

Is Maisie Williams maybe a little too old to play Ellie at this point? I don’t care and I don’t know why we’re still talking about it.

The Last of Us is the first television series from PlayStation Productions. It’s a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. We have no idea when it will come out, but now would be good.

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h/t The Hollywood Reporter