For my beautiful readers who are not regular gamers, The Last of Us is an excellent reputed video game title, heralded by many as a near-perfect example of nuanced storytelling interwoven with seamless gameplay; a post-apocalyptic story about guilt, survival, and facing an uncertain future with just enough hope for the betterment of humanity. It is one of my favorite video games of all time and was part of the inspiration for my book, Come See The Light (shameless plug).
In the years following the game's release back in 2013, several interested parties have eagerly attempted to produce a film adaptation. For a while, a feature-film project was in the works with producer Sam Raimi (known for the original Spider-Man trilogy and The Evil Dead) set to make it all happen. However, the project was ultimately shut down due to several disagreements between Raimi, Sony (the game's original publisher), and Neil Druckmann (the game's primary writer and creator). Long story short, the producers wanted to turn a complex dramatic story into a dumb action flick, which Drukmann was firmly against.
A few days ago, HBO Max dropped a trailer for their new series, an adaptation of The Last of Us. Based on what could be gleaned from the two-minute video, it would appear that the wait might have been well worth it. While we won't know how the adaptation favors on its own merits until its release next year, I can comfortably say that I am probably more excited about a video game adaptation than I have ever been before.
Film and television adaptations of famous video games have typically been, to put it mildly, nothing worth writing home about. Most of the time, the creative teams in charge of adapting a video game either miss the point of the game entirely or try too hard to reshape the game into something they would prefer to make, resulting in a jarring presentation that resembles the original game in name only. The closest we've ever gotten to a decent film adaptation of a highly acclaimed video game was Prince of Persia from 2010, and that's only because the director, Mike Newell, actually played the game seeking inspiration for how to best handle the film.
In the case of HBO Max's upcoming adaptation of The Last of Us, there is enough present in this one trailer to give me hope.
The most noticeable aspect thus far is the casting of Pedro Pascal as Joel, one of the game's protagonists. While Pascal is an incredibly talented actor with plenty of remarkable performances under his belt (The Mandalorian and The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, to name a few), he's not entirely what most fans of the game would think of as the first choice. And before you even think it, no, it has nothing to do with his Chilean heritage.
In the game, Joel is an older man with a tragic past that reinforces his character and the choices he makes on his journey. He is also a very tall, very built, and very intimidating individual who will kill you without a second thought should you prove to be a threat to his survival. It's the kind of role that calls for someone like Harrison Ford or Denzel Washington: actors with a unique presence that never makes you question their validity on screen. Pedro Pascal has shown his potential for acquiring such a presence but hasn't yet had the opportunity to seek it out. Perhaps this will be the role that permits him the chance to stretch his range. In any case, I eagerly await what he will bring to the show.
Here's to looking forward to 2023 and hopefully justifying the renewal of my HBO Max subscription. In other words, please don't suck!
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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