HBO hypes up The Last of Us with gorgeous character posters

The Last of Us is coming! See Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Nick Offerman as Bill, and much more.

I’m excited about this one: HBO is gearing up to release The Last of Us, its new show based on the video games of the same name from Naughty Dog. Video games still have something of a schlocky reputation when it comes to movie and TV adaptations, although that’s changing as stuff like Arcane gets more and more popular. With HBO’s trademark coat of polish applied, will The Last of Us redeem video game adaptations in the eyes of the masses?

The Last of Us is about a zombie apocalypse, which sounds overdone and is. But what distinguishes the games are their intense focus on character drama, which is a great fit for TV. It also helps that Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin is on hand as showrunner. Neil Druckmann, who wrote the games, is also deeply involved.

HBO is hyping the show up ahead of its January premiere! Check out the new character posters below, often with helpful little quotes from Druckmann:

Pedro Pascal plays lead character Joel, a hardened survivor who must escort a young girl across a zombie-ridden United States.

Speaking of that young girl…

Played by Game of Thrones veteran Bella Ramsey (Lyanna Mormont), Ellie is immune to the zombie virus that has turned the rest of the world upside down, hence why Joel is with her; he’s trying to get her to a lab out west where they may be able to use her immunity to help humanity.

Riley is a friend of Ellie’s. She’s a fan of the Fireflies, a rebel group that opposes the military regime that has sprung up as society collapsed.

Sarah is Joel’s daughter. In the games, she dies in the prologue, just as the zombie apocalypse is getting going. Their relationship is reflected in the one between Joel and Ellie. It’ll be interesting to see if she plays a bigger role on the show.

Tommy is Joel’s brother. He joins up with the Fireflies, who are a very important faction in this universe.

See what I mean? Marlene is the leader of the Fireflies.

Along their journey, Joel and Ellie will meet lots of different characters. Brothers Henry and Sam are two of them.

Before he takes up the job of Ellie’s protector, Joel mainly works with Tess as smugglers. They work with survivors living outside what remains of Boston.

Bill and Frank are another pair of characters Joel and Ellie will encounter on their journey, although we don’t actually meet Frank in the flesh in the original game. Perhaps we’ll see a flashback, or see the story otherwise switched around.

The Last of Us premieres on HBO on January 15.

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