The Last of Us survival video game to get adapted into TV show at HBO; Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin roped in as writer

HBO has announced it is developing a TV show based on the survival horror video game The Last of Us, along with Sony Pictures Television and PlayStation Productions. It will be adapted by The Last of Us co-director and writer Neil Druckmann, and Craig Mazin, who will reunite with HBO after the critical success of  Chernobyl ,  states The Hollywood Reporter. Mazin (The Hangover II, The Hangover III, and The Huntsman: Winter’s War) has created, written, and executive produced Chernobyl. [caption id=“attachment_8124201” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  A still from The Last of Us. Twitter[/caption] “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. 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,” Druckmann said in a statement obtained by the publication. Mazin also praised Druckmann, describing him as the “finest storyteller working in the video game medium” and the game as his “magnum opus.” According to a CNN report, players of the game control Joel, a divorced single father-turned-smuggler with a dark and tragic past, who is tasked with smuggling a 14-year-old girl named Ellie across a post-apocalyptic US. The two struggle to stay alive in a dystopian world ravaged by the outbreak of a deadly disease that turns people into murderous monsters. NDTV reports a film adaptation of The Last of Us was announced by Sony in March 2014, with Spider-Man trilogy director Sam Raimi set to produce and Druckmann as the writer. However, the project was later put in the backburner. In 2016, Raimi revealed the project was stalled owing to creative differences between Sony and Druckmann. Upon its release in 2013, The Last of Us took the gaming world by storm on the PlayStation 3. It also became the best-selling titles of that year.