With The Last of Us, HBO has been keeping its cards close to its chest. Considering that the franchise has one of the most vocal communities, the studio had to get it right.
Since its release in 2013, The Last of Us has been universally praised for its story. This is rare for a genre that could have been distilled down due to its zombie apocalypse setting. The story revolves around Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they travel across the country to join the Fireflies, a human faction that is developing a vaccine. Ellie is key to the story as she’s immune to the virus that has caused humans to turn into fungus-like zombies called Clickers.
The Last of Us HBO TV series consists of nine episodes and involves the original creators of the game extensively. The original game’s director Neil Druckmann is on board as a co-writer and he’s joined by Chernobyl writer and creator Craig Mazin.
From the trailer, it would appear that the voice actors of the game appear which is a subtle nod to fans. While we had known that their appearance would have been a sure thing back when the teaser was dropped, we now have the best look at their involvement.
Troy Baker (the Joel in-game voice actor), first from left, is spotted as part of David’s (the main antagonist) group.
Ashley Johnson (the Ellie in-game voice actor), seems to appear in a flashback scene. It’s brief and we’ll see if it makes the final cut for a better look.
The entire trailer looks great and with expectations high, fans can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Last of Us premieres on January 15 on HBO and streams on HBO MAX / HBO GO. Can’t wait!
Gerald currently straddles between his love of video games and board gaming. There’s nothing that interests him more than trying out the newest and fanciest gadget in town as well. He dreams of publishing a board game sometime in the future!