Bring out the red carpet, because Moira Rose has entered Jackson. The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us has cast Emmy?-winning comedy actress Catherine ??O’Hara in a mysterious role.

The news, tweeted by Max, is the fourth major casting for the new season. Just last month, they cast Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Beef‘s Young Mazino as Jesse, and Superman: Legacy’s Isabela Merced as Dina.

Funny enough, while appearing for Argylle with co-star Bryan Cranston on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, a call-in fan asked about her involvement. She responds “How do you know these things?�and genuinely looks concerned, like she lost Kevin again. She later says that “her son’s a set dresser on the show...so I get to see him, too.�/p>

The video game adaptation, starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), recently won eight Creative Emmys. It was also nominated for five Primetime Emmy awards, including Best Drama. The show was a massive hit for HBO and fans alike. This new season is expected to adapt The Last of Us Part II, released in 2020 to critical praise.

Who is Catherine O'Hara playing in The Last of Us Season 2?

DanielRPK previously teased on his Patreon that Catherine O’Hara was in talks to star as an original character named Gail. There is no character by that name in The Last of Us Part II,?? meaning this could be an original character, like Marlon and Florence, or a reworked character, similar to how the first season fleshed out Bill's husband, Frank. It's also possible Gail isn't the character's actual name (or that DanielRPK just got it wrong, so take it with a grain of salt).

Catherine O’Hara is a pretty interesting choice for a post-apocalyptic drama show given her comedy background. Many know the 69-year-old actress from her roles in the first two Home Alone films as Kate McCallister and her Emmy-winning performance as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek (2015-2020). She’s done other projects like Beetlejuice, Best in Show, and The Nightmare Before Christmas, but nothing like this. 

Despite that, I’m excited to see how it goes. Comedy actor Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson in Parks and Recreation) won for his role as Bill in The Last of Us. Who’s?? to say Catherine won’t ge??t another Emmy under her belt?

Season two of The Last of Us is scheduled to film later this year and release sometime next year. If you need something Last of Us related to hold you over, The Last of Us Part II Remastered is out on PlayStation 5 and includes a making-of documentary.

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Another lead in The Last of Us Part II has been cast for its TV adaptation. The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us has found its Dina in Instant Family’s Isabela Merced.

The news, tweeted by Max and Naughty Dog, is the third casting for the new season in the past few days. The first was Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, and soon after, Beef's Young Mazino as Jesse.

Creators Neil Druckmann and showrunner/director Craig Mazin talked about Merced and Dina with Variety, saying "Dina is warm, brilliant, w?ild, funny, moral, dangerous, and instantly lovable. You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right aw?ay. We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family."

The video game adaptation, starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), is fresh off winning eight Creative Emmys and is nominated for five main Primetime Emmy awards, including Best Drama. The show was a massive hit for HBO and fans alike. This new season is expected to adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II, which was released in 2020 to critical praise.

Dina, according to an official description by Variety, is said to be “a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit.�Shannon Woodward (Westworld) voiced the role for the game, while Cascina Caradonna was the face model. The character plays a huge role in the sequel, as a rom??antic interest for both E?llie and Jesse.

Making Things Click

Isabela Merced is a pretty big actress, if her resume is anything to go by. Breaking onto the scene with films like Sicario: Day of the Soldado and Transformers: The Last Knight, her title role in Dora and the Lost City of Gold shot her to stardom. Now, one can find her appearing in some big franchises in the future, like Alien (Alien: Romulus) DC (Superman: Legacy), and Spider-Man (Madame Web).

With such a busy schedule, it's impre?ssive that Merced is doing this big a role while filming franchise titles. I, for one, can't wait to see her take on a character as deep and strong as Dina.

Season two of The Last of Us is scheduled to film later this year and release sometime next year. Odds are, with HBO's cadence of casting announcements, there's probably still more to come. If you want to refresh yourself on Dina’s part in the games, The Last of Us Part II Remastered arrives for PS5 next week on January 19.

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Another actor has been cast for the next season of The Last of Us. HBO's adaptation of the Naughty Dog series has found its Jesse in Beef’s Young Mazino.

The news, tweeted by Max and Naughty Dog, comes a day after Booksmart’s Kaitly??n Dever was cast as antagonist and dual pr?otagonist Abby.

Creators Neil Druckmann and showrunner/director Craig Mazin confirmed Young Mazino's casting via Variety, saying "Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him. We’re so lucky to?? have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our?? show."

The video game adaptation, starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), is fresh off eight Creative Emmy wins and is nominated for five main Primetime Emmy awards, including Best Drama. The show was a massive hit for HBO and fans alike. This new season is expected to adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II, which was released in 2020 to critical praise.

Jesse, according to an official description by Variety, is said to be "a pillar of his community who puts everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost." His role in the game, which was played by Stephen Chang (Bosch: Legacy), was the leader of the Jackson patrol troops??, and the on-again/off-again love interest of Dina.

Breaking Out

Young Mazino is a relatively new actor, starting in 2013 and doing small roles in New Amsterdam and Blue Bloods. His big break came with the 2023 Netflix acclaimed limited series Beef as Steven Yeun (The Walking Dead)’s brother Paul Cho. He’s currently nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Lim??ited or Anthology Series or Movie for his role, alongside his co-star Joseph Lee.

I have yet to see Beef, though it is high up there considering it's been dominating the Miniseries category at awards shows thus far. Taking a chance on promising actors is always a win in my book. With that, Young Mazino seems like a great choice to play Jesse, a personal favorite of mine in The Last of Us Part II.

Season two of The Last of Us is scheduled to film later this year and release sometime next year. With HBO anno??uncing two roles in quick succession, I have a hunch we might hear more about other roles soon too.

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Naughty Dog has been pretty quiet on the gaming front this year, though the HBO series continues to be popular. According to Production List, filming for season?? 2 is scheduled to begin on J??anuary 7 next year.

Like the prior o?ne, season 2 will be filmed in Canada. Production List has Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann returning as producers and writers. Pedro Pascal and B?ella Ramsey also return, presumably reprising their roles as Joel and Ellie respectively.

What to expect from season 2 of The Last of Us

The upcoming season will be split into two parts. This makes sense for anyone familiar with The Last of Us Part 2. In a prior interview with Deadline, Mazin al??so discusses how the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes affected work. When it struck, they were in the middle of scriptwriting, but that had to be put on hold.

They had gotten pretty far already, and Mazin was able to "write and submit the first episode right before the deadline hit." According to Mazin, the next season of The Last of Us is scheduled to air in 2025, though nothing is certain yet. Despite the setback, he still really wants "to try and get this show on the air when ?it’s supposed to be? on the air."

Mazin also gi??ves hope that the se?ries won't end with the second season. There are already ideas being tossed around, and he is adamant that the "show will not end with Season 2 unless people don’t watch it and we’ll get canceled."

Many franchise fans have also been waiting for the multiplayer counterpart of The Last of Us Part 2 to launch??. For a while, it seemed like the project had been scrapped but Naughty Dog game director Vinit Agarwal has co??nfirmed he's still working on it.

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HBO series faces down The Academy Awards

This weekend saw a massive army of Fireflies glue to their TV screens, as HBO aired the ninth and final episode of its highly acclaimed series, The Last of Us �The show, an adaptation of the?? Naughty?? Dog game of the same name, broke its own viewership record, pulling in an amazing 8.2 million viewers.

The lofty number represents the solid growth that the sci-fi?/horror series has maintained since its premiere in January of this year. Episode 1 got off to a solid start with almost five million viewers, and the figures have seen a steady increase with each successive episode. The previous record was held by last week's Episode 8, which now sits in second place with around 8.1 million viewers.

Related: The Last of Us Episodes Ranked on PrimaGames

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8BonwM&ab_channe??l=HBOMax

Episode 9's success is even more amazing when you consider that The 95th Acadamy Awards were aired on the same night. And while many had assumed that Hollywood's annual party would have cut into the viewing figures of all shows that evening, it seemed that nothing was keeping the fans from watching the violent and shocki?ng final scenes of Joel?? and Ellie's first-season adventures.

HBO's The Last of Us has already secured a second season, although recent comments to GQ from show creators?? Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin suggest that they are hoping for at least three seasons, with seasons 2 & 3 expected to cover the events of 2012's dramatic video game sequel, The Last of Us Part II. With these impressive viewing figures under their belt, it is likely the production team have been "blank chequed", and will get said wish with ease.

The Last of Us Season 1 Finale Scores 8.2 Milli??on Viewers [Variety]

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Abby, are you ok?

This past weekend saw fans, fervent with anticipation, tune in for the season finale of HBO's The Last of Us, bringing to an end the first season of the acclaimed adaptat??ion of Naughty Dog's 2012 video game �And according to new comments from the show?'s runners, they're only just getting started.

Speaking in an interview with GQ, (contains season one spoilers), game director Neil Druckmann and show writer/director Craig Mazin expressed their intentions for the grim tale to continue for at least two further seasons. The exceptionally dark events of video game sequel The Last of Us Part II are not expected to be encapsulate??d in the show's second season, with plans to ??expand the tale out into a third season, at the very least.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8B???onwM&ab_channel=HBOMax

Mazin spoke of the adjustments that will be required in order to bring The Last of Us Part II's shifting protagonist/antagonist structure and timeline division t?o?? the TV screen.

"I think we know what we’re doing on this one," said Mazin of the task. "I’m not saying that in a snarky way, I’m saying that in a hopeful way. There are going to be things that are going to be different, and there are things that are going to be identical. There are things that are going to be added and enriched. There are some things t??hat are going to be fli??pped. Our goal remains exactly what it was for the first season, which is to deliver a show that makes fans happy."

"We’ve got an incredible return??ing cast. It’s a daunting task. But Jesus, so was the first season. You can’t m??ake everyone happy. But we’ve made a lot of people happy and that’s our intention to do it again."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhII1qlcZ4??E&ab_channel=PlayStation

The Last of Us Part II, which launched in 2020, famously introduces secondary protagonist Abby Anderson, a member of the Firefly militia who is fueled by vengeance over the death of her father. The arrival of Abby in the series introduced a methodology of vengeance, and redemption, attempting to portray the cyclical nature of violence itself �especially in regard to revenge �as well as the shifting perspective of who is "right". Though ambitious in intent, it, unfortunately, was not a thread that impressed all, leading to some absolutely shocking behavior from certain members of the gaming community.

In the GQ interview, Druckmann and Mazin also speak about their overall thoughts on season one, the audience reaction to the highly praised third episode, and the ways in which they consider altering the narrative. The interview contains major spoilers for the finale of season one. So consider yourself warned.

The Last of Us finale writers on that cliffhanger ending [GQ]

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See Joel and Ellie's next leg of the trip before the Super Bowl

If last week's The Last of Us had you eagerly awaiting what's ahead, you won't have to wait quite so long for the next one. Episode 5 of The Last of Us will be streaming a few days earlier, on February 10 at 9 p???.m. ET.

This perk will be available for both HBO Max users, who will be able to check out ??the new episode a little bit earlier. It will still make its HBO premie?re on Sunday, February 12 at 9 p.m. ET. This is the one and only episode to do so, as the rest will continue to air on Sundays at 9 p.m. ET.

//tw??itter.com/TheLastofUsH?BO/status/1622611081087844352

Why the two-day early premiere? Well, no official reason was given in HBO's press release. But those tuned into the sports world already know. This weekend is the Super Bowl, and it looks like HBO might look to avoid a direc??t clash between its new episode and massive sporting event.

Though other competition has existed for the Sunday slot, and The Last of Us has won out, it seems like HBO is making an effort to avoid the clash for this particular event. Thus, Episode 5 of The Last of Us will go live a little ?bit earlier. At least that's less waiting between c??liffhangers.

Last Friday night

It's at least a good sign for the series that HBO wants to keep its momentum rolling. The show has garnered general praise, an??d seems to at least be on the upper-end of the sca??le compared to most live-action video game adaptations.

The first season is expected to run through March 12, which is when its finale airs. It's already been renewed for a second season as well, so HBO really does seem to be betting on The Last of Us.

Meanwhile, PC fans holding out for the chance to play the first installment themselves are waiting a little longer, as the PC port of The Last of Us Part I has been pushed back further into March.

The post PSA: The Last of Us Episode 5 hi?ts streaming earlier this week appeared first on Destructoid.

We all saw this one coming

HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us has been one of the biggest hits for the platform in about a decade, garnering a staggering 10 million viewers within the first two days of the premiere alone, as well as gaining the most viewers from a first to second episode of any show ever on HBO. It pretty much felt like the show was going to get a renewal as soon as we saw the success of the premiere episode, so the writing was on the wall with th?is one. We haven't gotten any other official info from? the announcement so far �we just know Season 2 will be on the way.

//twitt??er.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1619017515581018112

As far as the content of Season 2, we know as per the show's creators that it will be covering the events of The Last of Us Part II, as this first season will come to a close along with the first game's story. One thing to consider is that the sequel is considerably longer than its predecessor �over double the length in terms of hours �so there's a chance that they'll need more than one season to tackle its narrative. In an interview from The Hollywood Reporter, Neil Druckmann revealed that they don't have any plans for the show's story to go?? beyond the games.

Personally, I think my viewing experience of The Last of Us will have to end with Season 1. My curiosity is enough to carry me through as of now, but I don't think I'll have it in me to sit through a whole other season �especially because the story of Part II wasn't my favorite to begin with. As a fan, I'm happy to see the franchise thriving, but I've spent so much time thinking and talking about it, I think it's time to move on for a while after I finish covering Season 1.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season appeared first on Destructoid.

Cityscapes, cordyceps, and cinders

The second episode of The Last of Us television series is here, and regardless of what any given viewer thinks of the show, no one can deny that the creators are taking risks. While the premiere episode laid out a solid introduction to the series, it s?till left a lot of fans wondering what direction the story might take in the coming weeks. But this week's episode, "Infected," set a whole new tone, for better or for worse. Whether or not you liked it, there's no denying that this second chapter laid it all out there and made some bold choices. It's up to us to discuss and decide if the changes were worth it. Let's break down the episode, and get into it.

Recap time

Episode Two: “Infected��run time 52 mins

The episode opens in Indonesia two days before the outbreak is in full swing, where government officials take custody of a professor of mycology (the study of fungi) from the University of Indonesia. At a lab, the professor goes into a laboratory to take a look at a woman who was bitten by what appears to be another person. The professor flees in horror when she sees that fungi are growing inside of the dead Infected woman, especially after pulling still-wriggling fungal tendrils from out of the dead woman's mouth. The terrified professor makes it clear that there is no medicine or cure for this ailment, and she encourages the government official to bomb the entire city with everyone in??side. Roll opening credits.

[caption id="attachment_359351" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

Ellie wakes up in an abandoned building to Joel and Tess watching her like a hawk. Joel is s?till skeptical? of Ellie's supposed immunity, and he encourages Tess to stop giving Ellie hope of living because of her bite. After some more back-and-forth about whether or not they should take Ellie back, she reveals to them that the Fireflies were taking her west to a base where they would try to find a cure. Joel is annoyed and says he's heard it all before, but Tess convinces him to move forward because they'll get what they want from the Fireflies regardless after dropping Ellie off. Ellie asks for a gun and both Tess and Joel say no.

Out in the open

They step out into the open city and we get a shot of the iconic leaning skyscraper from the game, which served as the first big set piece. We get some backstory and character quips as they walk through the ruined downtown area of Boston, and while going through a flooded hotel lobby, Ellie divulges she doesn't swim. She also does the bit where she acts out being both a snobby hotel guest ??and receptionist, which for those who don't know is a beloved (and somewhat hidden) character moment from t??he game. One of the hallways on their usual route is caved in, so Tess has to go around, leaving Joel and Ellie are left alone to have a stilted conversation where she tries to get to know him a little bit better.

[caption id="attachment_359352" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

Upon coming across a scene of dozens of Infected writhing around on the ground in a huge pile, Tess explains to Ellie that they're all connected?? in a sort of hive mind through a network of fungal way lines that grow under the ground. She says that stepping on a patch of the cordyceps fungus in one area can alert "a dozen Infected from somewhere else."

They decide to cut through a museum (another iconic location from the game) where they find a freshly-mauled man �Ellie says it didn't look anything like that when she encountered the Infected that bit her. After a tense walk up the stairs, the trio encounters two Clickers: monsters in an advanced stage of infecti?on who are blinded by fungus growing out of their heads, and the series' most classic enemies. They make it out, and seem shaken but relatively unscathed. After taking a moment to catch their collective breath, we get the exchange from the game where Joel and Ellie comment on the view from the roof of the museum.

End of the line

When they reach the Capital Building, which was supposed to be the meetup spot with the Fireflies, they find that some of them became infected, and while the non-infected Fireflies tried to defend themselves, everyone ended up dead. When Tess frantically starts searc??hing for clues of where to go next, Ellie figures out that Tess was actually bitten back at the museum and is now infected. Tess asks Joel to take Ellie to Bill and Frank's so that she might go on to the Fireflies to help make a cure, and in turn help "right the wrongs" that Tess and Joel have enacted.

Joel shoots an Infected, which alerts a horde of more Infected via the fungal way lines. Tess starts pouring gasoline, grenades, and other ammunition ?onto the ground and demands that Joel and Ellie flee, and the former of which reluctantly does so (Ellie doesn't have a say, as Joel grabs her by the arm and drags ?her kicking and screaming out of the room). As the Infect start barreling in, Tess is having trouble getting her lighter going.

[caption id="attachment_359358" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

One of the Infected slowly walks up to a horrified-looking Tess, and then gives her a fully open mouth kiss so that his fungus tendrils go into her mouth. She manages to ignite the li?ghter, and we see the building explode with Joel and Ellie safely outside. We end on a shot of ??Ellie staring breathlessly into the distance as the Capital Building smolders behind her.

My thoughts

This second episode was a doozy, so I'll try to start with the less controversial stuff. Overall, this was a slow 52 minutes. It felt like we lost a lot of time repeating the same points in conversations, taking too long to get t?o the point, or taking too many little pauses between actions that left everything feeling like it was lurching along to ??me. I also didn't get a great sense of flow with this episode. One of my friends that I was watching with described it as a collage, and I honestly think this image conveys the structure of this second chapter in the story well. It felt like the creators (so I guess Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin, in this case) plucked moments out of the game and stitched them together simply because they wanted to include them, rather than considering why those moments worked so well in the game.

The best example of this, I thought, was the bit where Ellie pretended to have a co??nversation with herself at the flooded hotel's reception desk. The hotel is a pretty famous (or infamous, I guess) level in the gam??e that comes much later than where it was here, but I'll let that lie �changes like that are usually pretty harmless. What I didn't like about how this moment was implemented, though, was that Ellie went out of her way from a clear objective to partake in this moment, seemingly for no other reason than for the show to grind to a halt and go "Hey, remember when this happened in the game?"

When that moment happens in the game, Joel and Ellie are already exploring the area at a leisurely pace, so it makes perfect sense th?at she would slack off for a moment to have a little fun in an otherwise bleak day-to-day. It's also just a lot later in the story, too, when Ellie is much more at ease with Joel and feels freer to be herself.

[caption id="attachment_359354" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

Okay, I know I'm already getting into the weeds a bit here. I get that they want viewers who have never played the game to be able to experience its most iconic moments, but plucking them out of context takes away from their overall impact, in my opinion. If they wanted to include those moments, I thin?k they should have been a bit more careful when weaving them into the flow of the episode. It's a cute moment, but a cute moment without the support from the appropriate context from the character's arc or the overall story leaves it feeling hollo?w and devoid of any substance. I see this as a recurring pattern over the past two episodes, with the hotel lobby being the obvious moment this time around.

Taking a chance

R?emember those risks I mentioned earlier? Yeah, it's time to talk about those. We knew going in that they were going to change the way the Infected "work," so to speak, namely by removing the detail that the fungal virus is spread by spores in the air. Ignoring the fact that that's actually how fungus spreads in real life, they opted instead to have Tess explain to Ellie (or rather, info dump) how the Infected are actually all connected through those fungal way lines that grow between them through the ground. Digging deeper into the zombie lore stuff is their prerogative with the show; I was the one who asked them to do something to set it apart from the game, right? But to me, spending all this time setting up new rules about how the zombies work is a waste of precious screen time on something that never really mattered to the series in the?? first place.

[caption id="attachment_359355" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

The Last of Us is zombie fiction �the thing about The Last of Us, though, with its intense focus on character-driven storytelling, is that the zombies don't really matter. The fungus thing is a nice twist, but they could be shark zombies or straight-up aliens for all I care. What makes The Last of Us different than anything else in the already over-saturated zombie media market is its characters, and what it does with them. What make??s the Infected the most interesting, in my opinion, is the high-stakes, pressure cooker context they provide that builds the framework for some robust, satisfying, and ultimately really moving character work.

When it comes to the Clicker scene... it wasn't my favorite. It was chaotic, but not in like an I'm-on-the-edge-of-my-seat kind of way. It was more of an I-can't-tell-what-the-hell-is-going-on kind of thing. Between the extreme shaky cam and incomprehensible cuts, it's near-impossible to follow, even upon repeat viewin??gs. It was cool to see Clickers, though, because they are a fun monster. I just didn't think the scene was shot or edited in a particularly compelling way, from a horror standpoint.

[caption id="attachment_359356" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

We gotta talk about the kiss

I'll end on the same note that the episode does: Tess' kiss. Anna Torv does a phenomenal job as Tess and brings something new to the role (something I'm still holdin??g my breath to see from Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal), but they really lost me with the kiss. I've heard all kinds of explanations for why it's there, including the one from Mazin himself, b?ut it just... doesn't work for me. It's certainly gross. It's certainly shocking. But I don't like gross and shocking for the sake of it.

Look, I was an English major. There are any number of "viable" reasons as to why it might be in there, from nature's ultimate triumph over man to the liminal bliss of the moment between life and death to some sort of twisted sexual commentary I don't care to describe even in a hypothetical situation. My point here is that The Last of Us has always been viol??ent and?? brutal, but gross-out/body horror has never been in its wheelhouse. It feels too tonally dissonant to work for me, but I guess that's something we can hash out in the comments.

[caption id="attachment_359353" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO[/caption]

In conclusion

Overall, I think what the show i?s missing the most for me so far is a clear sense of focus. It feels all over the place, especially in this second episode. Like a collage. We still have a whole lot of show left, so there's a good chance it could surprise me along the way, or even bring me back around by the end. I know I'm extra harsh as a big fan of the game, so I'll be interested to hear what non-gamers think of the whole ordeal.

So far I certainly don't think it's the worst thing I've ever seen, but I certainly don't think it's great, either. As for now, I'm looking forward to seeing where i??t all goes in the coming weeks. At least while there are still episodes out ahead of us, I can still have some hope that I'll come out on the other side with a mostly positive view.

Check out the rest of Destructoid’s coverage of the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us here.

[Disclosure: It’s important to disclose that I worked at Naughty Dog for a period of time during the development of The Last of Us Part II. My work did not involve or touch upon any of the content that is covered in the first season of HBO The Last of Us, but we believe it necessary and prudent to emphasize my time at the studio nonetheless. �Noelle Warner]

The post HBO’s The Last of Us Episode 2: Recap a??nd thoughts appeared first on Destructoid.

Sales spike 238% in one week

Naughty Dog's PS5 remake The Last of Us Part I has skyrocketed back up th??e UK Charts following the premiere of its HBO live-action counterpart. The remake, w?hich launched in September 2022, found itself sitting at the number 20 spot in the physical retail charts after sales spiked a wild 238% in just one week.

The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us premiered on the channel to record audiences, pulling in an estimated ??4.7 million viewers for its first episode. The series, which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, recounts the original game's story of a world-weary man and a young girl thrust together i?n a journey across a dilapidated United States, its places and people torn apart by a terrifying mass fungal infection.

Elsewhere in the UK Charts, Nintendo's shiny new RPG Fire Emblem Engage debuted at No.1, making it the first new number one of 2023. Fire Emblem Engage displaced Electronic Arts' football sim FIFA 23, which has sat comfortably in the top spot for almost a month now. The remainder of the Top 10 is dominated by Nintendo Switch releases, including Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo Switch Sports, Pokemon Scarlet & Violet, and, of course, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.

For more reporting on HBO's The Last of Us, be sure to check out our hub right here on Destructoid.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: January 21, 2023
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. Fire Emblem Engage �Nintendo
2. FIFA 23  �Electronic Arts
3. God of War Ragnarok �Sony Interactive Entertainment
4. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe �Nintendo
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 �Activision
6. Pokemon Violet �Nintendo
7. Nintendo Switch Sports �Nintendo
8. Minecraft �Nintendo
9. Animal Crossing: New Horizons �Nintendo
10. Pokemon Scarlet �Nintendo

U.K. Video Game Charts [GamesIndustry.biz]

The post The Last of Us Part? I rockets back up UK Charts following show premiere appeared first on Destructoid.

It was HBO's second-biggest premiere in 13 years

Let's be honest �we all knew HBO's The Last of Us adaptation was going to be popular, it was just a matter of quite how popular it would turn out to be. As expected, it was a massive success, and a tweet from HBO Max confirmed it: the show surpassed 10 million viewers within two days of its premiere, and that only accounts for the viewers in the United States, according to HBO. Those numbers are broken down into 4.7 million streams on premiere night last Sunday, January 15, which means an additional 5.3 viewers tuned in the following day. I'd bet a good perce?ntage of those people saw the hype online and w??anted to see what all the fuss was about, because the series has lit up social media like the Fourth of July this week.

//twitter.com/Variety/status/1615795010540302338

With numbers like that, The Last of Us has secured a spot as the second-most watched premiere of a show on HBO since 2010, second only to House of the Dragon with 9.98 million viewers. While The Last of Us had the benefit of a pre-built fanbase of gamers to flock to the streaming platform on opening night, House of the Dragon had the advantage of being a spin-off of another one of HBO's most successful series of all time: Game of Thrones.

HBO has also stated that numbers tend to grow significantly in the weeks after a show has premiered, with only 20-40% of its total numbers coming from Sunday night viewership. This means The Last of Us ??can be expected to be seeing even bigger numbers as time goes on, and as a fan of the series myself, I can imagine it's only a matter of ti?me before even the most hardened skeptics cave to the curiosity �especially when it comes to seeing the adaptations of the show's most iconic scenes that are still ahead.

The post The Last of Us HBO se??rie??s hit a stunning 10 million viewers within 2 days of its premiere appeared first on Destructoid.

Look for the light �a recap of The Last of Us' premiere episode

HBO's adaptation of the beloved narrative game The Last of Us has been highly anticipated for months and even years �either by fans of the series or otherwise. Now that it's finally out, the takes have started rolling in, and the first episode has been a bit more divisive among fans than the early, glowing critic reviews suggested. This first installment covered the opening few hours of the game, from its emotional opening to the c??rew's first steps out of the quarantine zone. Of course, there are quite a few wa??ys in which the show deviates from its source material, which we will cover in the recap below.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8BonwM

Let's recap, shall we?

Episode One: "When You're Lost in the Darkness" �run time 81 mins

The show opens with two scientists on the set of a talk show in 1968 where they answer questions about a newly-discovered fungal virus that could potentially spread to humans. After a bit of exposition dumping about how the fungus controls the mind of its host, we're met with a very HBO-looking opening credits sequence with fungus spreading and gro?wing across the screen.

Joel and Sarah are having a nice conversation over breakfast when we meet Joel's b??rother Tommy. We learn that Joel and Sarah? have some elderly neighbors, the Adlers, who Sarah will sometimes go over and begrudgingly spend time with. As Sarah goes to school and into town to get Joel's watch fixed for his birthday, we hear ominous car horns and sirens in the distance.

[caption id="attachment_358457" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO Max[/caption]

Here comes the apocalypse

Sarah goes over to the Adlers' for a bit, and then later presents Joel with his birthday present �an old watch of his that she had fixed. Joel goes to bail Tommy out of jail, and Sarah wakes up to an empty house. She goes back to the Adlers, where the previously senile, ??and now Infected, Mrs. Adler has killed the inhabitants of the house. Joel and Tommy show up and take Sarah in their truck, heading towards the military checkpoint at the highway. Joel and Sarah get separated from Tommy while running away from Infected, and when they reach the checkpoint, a soldier fires on the pair following orders from a ??superior. Sarah is fatally wounded, and just as Tommy shows up to save Joel, Sarah dies in his arms.

We skip ahead 20 years (which is now 2023 �the show moved the game's opening back from 2013 to 2003), and a child stumbles back into a quarantine zone. Soldiers discover he's Infected, and euthanize him while promising he's safe now. We then get a look into the bleakness inside the quarantine zone, from burning dead bodies to dwindling food supplies to public executions. We learn that Joel is a smuggler, working as fellow smugg?ler Tess' muscle?? and right-hand man. There's a "terrorist" group that's also causing trouble around town known as the Fireflies.

[caption id="attachment_358460" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO Max[/caption]

Ellie's introduction

Meanwhile, there's a girl chained up in a building, where she is tested for signs of mental alertness and awareness. Joel spea??ks to the man in charge of the zone's radio, who confirms he still hasn't heard from Tommy. Joel says that his brother usually responds within a day, but it's been three weeks since they last communicated. Joel mixes some pills and alcohol and goes to sleep, and Tess joins him in bed in the middle of the night. In the morning, Joel tells Tess he need??s a car battery to go and find Tommy, but Tess tells him that a man named Robert sold their battery to someone else.

Marlene, the head of the Fireflies, tells fellow Firefly Kim that they're all going to leave the quarantine zone soon to transport "that random girl locked in that room" west. Marlen?e goes to talk to the girl and tells her that's the one who put her in military school, and that the girl's real name is Ellie. We get a namedrop for Riley here �a side character who's important to Ellie, who we know will make an appearance in a future episode.

Joel and Tess go to confront Robert and come across a Clicker that's grown into the wall in the sewers (it's the first we've seen o?f the series' most iconic enemy, and it actually looks really good!). When they reach Robert's hideout, he's already dead due to a deal gone wrong with the Fireflies because the car battery is corroded. Joel and Tess encounter Marlene, Kim, and Ellie, and after a bit of back and forth, Joel and Tess agree to take Ellie to the Capital Building to meet up with the rest of the Fireflies.

The journey begins

The trio stop by Joel and Tess' hideout to plan out their trip, and Ellie figures out a code that Bill and Frank (some smugglers/suppliers outside of the city) use to share their status by playing songs from different decades. Joel wakes up from a nap and he and Ellie have a conversation �she tells him that his watch is broken. They head outside the wall?s of the quarantine zone, where they encou??nter a soldier who scans them for Infection. When Ellie is scanned, she attacks the soldier, who shines his flashlight in Joel's face. This triggers a flashback that takes Joel back to the night that Sarah died, and he beats the soldier to death with his bare hands.

Tess looks at the scanner a?nd learns that Ellie is Infected, but she counters by showing Tess and Joel her arm and insisting that the bite is three weeks old. We cut back to Joel and Tess' hideout, where the radio is playing an 80's s??ong, which indicates trouble at Bill and Frank's. The final shot of Joel, Tess, and Ellie sweeps out to reveal the ruined, overgrown cityscape as lightning strikes and we hear the screams of Infected in the distance.

[caption id="attachment_358462" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO Max[/caption]

And now, some thoughts

Okay, that was a lot, and I'm still working throu?gh my thoughts about it after a second watch-through. Let's start with the stuff I liked. I thought the sets looked great, and I especially loved to see what I assume were practical effects with the aforementioned Clicker that had ??grown into the wall. I'm excited to see some more of the Infected in action. I liked the actress who played Sarah a lot, and I liked that they added a bit more to her character that we get to see before she gets killed off. Also, huge props to the actors who played the Infected in the crowd scenes �they nailed the physicality and captured the fast, flailing movements we see from the Runners in the game.

Pedro Pascal's casting as Joel was a ?part of the show I was really looking forward to, and so far he didn't disappoint. There's still a lot to see from him, but so far he's nailed the look and feel of Joel for me.

Then there's the stuff I feel skeptical about. It's funny, I feel like most of my critiques fall on either end of a spectrum �either it's too much like the game, or it's too different. Starting with the former, I've also seen other reviewers discussing the fact that the show takes too much from the game, and I have to agree. A ton of the dialogue, acting choices, and camera angles are ripped right from the game. Don't get me wrong, I still want it to feel like a Last of Us show, but when the original is already so cinematic, w??hat are we gaining from doing a 1:1 remake of a b??unch of the scenes?

[caption id="attachment_358463" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO Max[/caption]

As a megafan of the series, I have most of the dialogue in the game memorized down to the vocal inflections, and I was shocked to find the most iconic scenes from the game were basically copied and pasted down to the blocking and line reads. The whole point of an adaptation is to put a new s?pin on the source mater??ial, but to me, this first episode only muddied the waters in terms of what the story is trying to say.

This brings me to my next point: the differences. As I said, I'm totally fine with them making changes to the game's narrative �in fact, I encourage it. But for the most part, I felt like the changes they made detracted from the potency of the story. Similar to its gameplay, The Last of Us' story is tight and compact, only including what's necessary to get across its thesis or survival and sacrifice for those you love. To me, it felt like everything in that first game always pointed back to Jo?el and Ellie's arcs and gave us further insight into their?? relationship.

In the show, however, adding all these new characters and extra threads only serves t??o bog everything down in my mind. We've been there, done that with apocalypse fiction �what makes Joel and Ellie's relationship so poignant and moving is the love and ho??pe they find in the darkest possible circumstances.

I hate to say it, but as of now, I'm also a bit skeptical of this version of Ellie. A sentiment I've heard echoed online, and even from a friend I watched this first episode with who was not familiar with the game, is that some ??people aren't taking much of a liking to Ellie. I know not everyone is going to love her, but so much of Ellie's character is her sweetness which often shines through despite her snarky, sarcastic side. So far she's been mostly abrasive, which isn't helped by the change that she's not with Marlene and the Fireflies of her o??wn accord.

[caption id="attachment_358464" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via HBO Max[/caption]

Final thoughts

I'm getting ahead of myself here a bit because we've got a long way to go. There's a chance that all of my qualms will be remedied by the time the season wraps up, and I'm certainly expecting Nick Offerman as Bill to be an upcoming highlight, for sure. Overall, I didn't overly dislike Episode 1, but I also didn't love it. And I wanted, more th??an anything, to love it.

If you're interested in hearing more of my thoughts o??n the show, make sure to check back, because I'll be doing one of these recap posts after each episode every week!

Check out the rest of Destructoid's coverage of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us here.

[Disclosure: It's important to disclose that I worked at Naughty Dog for a period of time during the development of The Last of Us Part II. My work did not involve or touch upon any of the content that is covered in the first season of HBO's The Last of Us, but we believe it necessary and prudent to emphasize my time at the studio nonetheless. �Noelle Warner]

The post HBO’s The Last of Us Episode 1: Recap and thoughts appeared first on Destructoid.

Fork over that extra dollar

HBO has always been one of the pricier streaming services, but with shows like Succession, White Lotus, and the show that arguably kicked off the current golden era of television, The Sopranos, you're basically always guaranteed to get a good bang for your buck. We'll have to see if that holds true after yet another price increase, because the cost of HBO Max has risen yet ag?ain.

The change ??went into effect today, January 12, making the service's former $14.99/month price for the ad-free tier has increased $1 to $15.99. It's the first price hi??ke since the launch of HBO Max back in March of 2020.

//twitter.com/hbomax/status/1613672303090335746

While it's impossible to know for sure why the company decided to raise the price, there's a chance that they're simply keeping up with the rising costs of inflation, especially after their competitors like Netflix have done the same. Of course, it does seem a bit convenient that this change is happening only days before the premiere of The Last of Us TV adaptation on HBO Max, which will? likely be one of the biggest streaming events o??f the year.

The show has been receiving rave reviews from critics, and as a fan of the series myself, I'll be interested to see how they translate such a beloved game to a live action television format. Here's hoping the price increase is wo??rth it.

The post HBO M?ax price increases ahead of The Last of Us pre??miere appeared first on Destructoid.

'I guess we really are The Last of Us Part I'

Following a frankly obnoxious amount of media build-up and endless think-pieces, HBO finally previewed its live-action adaptation of The Last of Us to an army of critics, who have been overwhel?mingly positive in their response to the grim-looking televisual take of the hit game series.

The new series currently sits at an incredible 97% on the review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes, with a score calculated from a total of 60 media reviews. The long-in-development series, which will debut on the HBO network next week, sees beleaguered protagonists Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) pick their way through a dilapidated shell of the United States, attempting?? to stay one step ahead of thieving marauders and the terrifying mutated humans known as "Clickers."

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8??BonwM&ab_channel=HBOMax

The HBO TV adaptation was first announced back in 2020, a seemingly snug fit for a game series so beholden to its distinct cinematic style. The show is produced by a litany of companies including Sony Pictures, Word Games, Naughty Dog, and the recently founded PlayStation Productions. The show itself is written by Craig Mazin, the Emmy award-winning creator of equally grim series Chernobyl, and Neil Druckmann, the writer of the video game iterations of The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II.

If you're looking forward to the new show, then you won't have too much longer to wait. The first episode will air this Sunday, January 15, on HBO and HBO Max. In the UK, The Last of Us will air at 02:00 BST on Monday ?m??ornings via Sky Atlantic and NOW TV, to coincide with the U.S. timeslot. Don't fret staying up, as each episode will be made available on demand after its respective premiere.

We're about to hit a whole new wave of Last of Us discour?se, folks. Bat??ten down the fuckin' hatches.

The post The Last of Us TV adaptation receives overwhelming prais?e from critics appeared first on Destructoid.

What if Bella Ramsey played Ellie in The Last of Us Part II?

Maybe it's just me, but it feels like The Last of Us Part II, or Naughty Dog at the very least, have managed to stay in the news cycle since the sequel's release back in 2020. Of course, this is in large part due to the fact that HBO's adaptation of the series is coming up in less than a week now, and conversations about the televised take on the first game have been swirling for months. As a long time mega fan of the series, I'll have a lot of feelings to parse through once it's finally out, but until then, I can focus on the fun that's popping up around the series right now, like this mod that makes Ellie in The Last of Us Part II look exactly like Bella Ramsey, who is portraying the beloved character in HBO's live ??action versi??on.

The project was actually a collaboration between two different fans �a modder by the name of Vontadeh modeled out Ramsey's face and put it onto Ellie's character model, while another modder who goes by smasher248 created tools to implement the model into the game. The video showing off the duo's work was compiled by a YouTuber called Speclizer, and it's pretty amazing to see this mod in action. Based on what little knowledge I have about ?3D sculpting, rigging, and animation, it's no small feat t?o seamlessly blend a face into a game that looks passable, let alone good, especially when using a real person for reference.

//youtu.be/4QFxenhILr4

According to a pinned comment on the video from Vontadeh, the process involved? sculpting Ramsey's face over Ellie's neutral expression, and while they admit to some weirdness going on when Ellie shows some more extreme emotions,?? I'm still insanely impressed with what they were able to accomplish. Vontadeh also stated that "this was a mod made with care and out of love and respect" for Naughty Dog, the support studios who helped make the games, and Bella [Ramsey].

I think this team did an amazing job of showing off their love for the series, and are certainly keeping fans buzzing as we hone in on the show's January 15, 2023 premiere date. I know I for one am looking forward to seeing Ramsey's take on one of gaming's most iconic roles?.

[Featured Image via HBO]

The post This Bella Ramsey mod turns The Last of Us Part II’s Ellie into her HBO counterpart appeared first on Destructoid.

It's not tv, it's not video games, it's HBO

Arguably one of the most anticipated new shows of 2023 is the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, the hit PlayStation game that spawned a million bad takes about storytelling. We've been talking about this show for quite some time and now we're just weeks away from its debut. After a couple of short video teases and character posters, the producers of the sure-to-be-viral show finally dropped the debut trailer. And hey, wh?at do you know? It looks like another high-quality production from HBO.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtkt8BonwM

Music choice aside, I think that's a pretty dope trailer and certainly has my hopes up that this will be better than that lousy House of the Dragon show. Of course, with the production team working on The Last of Us, I have some pretty high expectations. Chernobyl is one of the most unsettling shows I've ever seen and considering this IP is Neil Druckmann's baby, I highly doubt he'd want anything reaching the airwaves that doesn't live up to its legacy. Add in a stell?ar cast and some great visuals, and this show is giving me a reason to restart my HBO Max subscription even if the guy running things over at Warner Bros. Discovery is a real piece of work.

The Last of Us will debut on January 15 on HBO and HBO Max. That's plenty of time to b?eat the game if you're someone like more who got bored of the whole thing ha?lfway through and hasn't picked it up since.

The post The Last of Us Season 1 trailer is here appeared first on Destructoid.

The gang's all here

The January 2023 release date of HBO's highly anticipated The Last of Us series is quickly approaching, which means we're getting more glimpses of the show ahead of its debut than ever before. The most recent unveiling was a series of posters featuring the series' most prominent side characters, which HBO posted as a thread to the official HBO Last of Us Twitter account. There are five in total, featuring Bill (Nick Offerman), Frank (Murray Bartlett), Sarah (Nico Parker), Riley (??Storm Reid), and ??Henry (Lamar Johnson).

This new series of posters follow those featuring the series' main cast, including Joel (Pedro Pascal), Ellie (Bella Ramsey), Tommy?? (Gabriel Luna), Tess (Anna Torv), and Marlene (Merle Dandridge). Each character also has a specific role assigned to them along with their poster, like Joel being labeled "the protector," Tess being "the smuggler," or Bill being "the survivalist," just to name a few.

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/?1598000409209360387?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1598000409209360387%7Ctwgr%5E0409284ce87634b900421f5f4c7bedb2b00e9b52%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fhbos-the-last-of-us-reveals-new-character-posters%2F1100-6509580%2F

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1597999401418440705?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7C??twcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1597999401418440705%7Ctwgr%5E0409284ce87634b900421f5f4c7bedb2b00e9b52%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fhbos-the-last-of-us-reveals-new-character-posters%2F1100-650958?0%2F

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1597998897179172864?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5E?tweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1597998897179172864%7Ctwgr%5E0409284ce87634b900421f5f4c7bedb2b00e9b52%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fhbos-the-last-of-us-reveals-new-character-posters%2F1100-6509580%2F

Adding these descriptors to the Last of Us posters is actually a pretty smart move if you ask me �giving each character an archetype might give viewers who are new to the series something to latch onto. The game does have a pretty large cast of characters, all things considered. It's hard for players to forget any of them after beating the game, but hopefully these minimal introductions can at least help Last of Us virgins know what to expect going in whil?e also giving long-time fans a look at how the characters will translate to the silver screen??.

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1598000979768913920?ref_src=t?wsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E15980?00979768913920%7Ctwgr%5E0409284ce87634b900421f5f4c7bedb2b00e9b52%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fhbos-the-last-of-us-reveals-new-character-posters%2F1100-6509580%2F

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsHBO/status/1598001423165566977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E15980??01423165566977%7Ctwgr%5E0409284ce87634b900421f5f4c7bedb2b00e9b52%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fhbos-the-last-of-us-reveals-new-character-posters%2F1100-6509580%2F

One other thing that intrigues me about these Last of Us posters are that they feature characters we don't actually meet in the main game, particularly Riley and Frank. I'm glad to see that the show will be pulling from the Left Behind DLC, because it explores a whole other side of Ellie's character that we don't usually get to see. Including Frank is also an interesting development, because it means we'll likely get to see him interacting with Bill for the first time �??although mentioned, we never actually got to see Frank in the game.

The post The L??ast of Us HBO series shows off a new series of character posters appeared first on Destructoid.

The cross-country road trip sets off in the new year

HBO has set a premiere date for The Last of Us. The ser?ies will debut on January 15 on HBO and streaming via HBO Max.

The show will follow the plot of Naughty Dog's video game The Last of Us, with Pedro Pascal playing the role of Joel and Bella Ramse??y playing Ellie.

Naughty Dog shared the news today, alongside a promotional poster for the HBO series.

//twitter.com/Naughty??_Dog/status/1587837418748657665

The date seemingly leaked out a b??it ahead of time, through the HBO Max streaming app. But now HBO and Naughty Do??g have locked it in for the start of the new year.

We got a glimpse of the series in an HBO sizzle reel a while back, but more recently got a full teaser trailer, laying out the look and feel of HBO's take on The Last of Us.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBRRDpQ0yc0

More PlayStation productions in the works

The Last of Us is far from the only PlayStation property with a silver-screen adaptation in the works. The Twisted Metal series has wrapped filming for Peacock, and the Gran Turismo film recently picked up Stranger Things' David Harbour for its cast.

Tack on reports of adaptations in the works, like Days Gone and Gravity Rush, and there's a lot of PlayStation in the pipeline. Which, depending on how you felt about the Uncharted movie, could be a good or bad thing.

But The Last of Us and HBO does seem like a perfect fit. The series is a dark take on the post-apocalypse and the choices humanity could make in it. Also, importantly, Nick Offerman is playing the role of Bill. That's pretty darn good casting.

HBO's The Last of Us adaptation premieres on January 15, 2023.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us series will debut in January appeared first on Destructoid.

Get a look at all the sights, sounds, and faces of HBO's adaptation

HBO has published a new trailer for its adaptation of The Last of Us today. It spotlights a whole bunch of familiar faces, and gives us a good ide??a of where the production is?? headed with Naughty Dog's story.

The center of the trailer is obviously Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. The duo are the core of The Last of Us, and we see a lot of familiar moments with them. J??oel looking gruff and getting violent, and Ellie learning to thrive and survive in the harsh ??world around them.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBRRDpQ0yc0

We also see the broader cast of the series. Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Nick Offerman as Bill, Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah, and Storm Reid as Riley all make an appearance. The latter does suggest that we'll be seeing the DLC content Left Behind somehow folded into The Last of Us, which is great. That particular slice of the story ??adds a ton to Ellie's charact??er and would be missed if it got left out.

Save who you can save

This is the longest look yet at th??e series, and it's interesting that the trailer doesn't explicitly set up the story of Joel and Ellie's cross-country road trip.

It's an adaptation of Naughty Dog's well-known and recently remade survival action game, so fans already know what's coming. And for an unaware outside observer, I imagine the action, emotions, and ominous western music over footage of zombies gets the appeal across. Either way, it's a solid trailer, and one that's got?? me keen ??on seeing the premiere.

No date's been set yet for HBO's The Last of Us, outside of a 2023 window. Naughty Dog has been celebrating today, the unofficial-official Last of Us Day, with a bunch of new GIFs and other fun tidbits for TLOU fans.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us gets a new teaser trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm tired, y'all

I've played a lot of The Last of Us in my life. The first one was incredibly formative for me, and became the reason I work in games now. My hyperfixation with it took over my life for a good year, and in that time I ended up playing it seven or eight times, starting it over again after I finished it. My love for TLOU is what brought me across the country to live in Los Angeles, and eventually landed me a job at Naughty Dog doing QA for The Last of Us Part II, which I platinumed abou?t a half?? dozen times while I worked there.

The series has continued to be at the forefront of?? the games industry nearly a decade after its beginnings, for better and for worse. The first game is one of the best examples of interactive storytelling we have, and certainly my favorite, and I have to assume that its continued relevance has led many new players to e??xperience its story for the first time �that I'm thankful for. Even so, it's not ideal to have too much of a good thing, which is something the games industry knows well.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lrzr_1pW_c

If you haven't heard the news about the newly released The Last of Us Part I (a title I begrudgingly use for the original game only because it's the official name of this version), you might be living under a rock. In case you've decided to go all Patrick Star on us, I'll quickly break it down �Naughty Dog released a new version of The Last of Us that was "rebui??lt from the ground up" for the PS5, which includes enhanced gra??phics, gameplay, and quality of life changes. It's also the first time the series is available on PC.

At this point, sharing the fact that I don't want to play the game again as its rereleased Part I version feels pretty stale. All of our timelines are flooded with takes, both hot and cold, about TLOU, and her??e I am adding to the heaping pile. In all honesty, it's because? I'm so close to it, I can't help myself.

When all of the controversy surrounding Part II hit, I was already eating, sleeping, and breathing the game for over six months, having endless discussions about it not only as a fan, but as someone who poured their heart and soul into helping refine? it. About a year ago, I finally reached a point where I don't feel like I can engage with it at all anymore �I've simply talked myself out.

//www.reddit.com/r/gaming/comments/v8r8e?7/heres_you??r_remake_bro/

Part of the exhaustion, which I know others are feeling as well, is that we can't escape it. Between the new rerelease and the upcoming HBO adaptation, it's impossible to avoid the conversations surrounding the series in the g??ames sp??????????????????????????ace. Naughty Dog doesn't seem to want us to forget.

We've seen other instances of studios wheeling out old favorites for the sheer fact that it'll still sell (looking at you, Bethesda and Rockstar), and now, because TLOU has barely left the public consciousness for going on a decade, everyone feels some type of way about ??it. Whether that reaction is to roll your eyes or defend the games to your grave or anything in between, I understand it all.

I am so biased about this ?topic in so many ways. Every detail of the original is really important to me �every frame is burne?d into my brain. It sounds silly, but even the slightest change of a camera angle or color grading feels sacrilegious to me.

After being disillusioned by the games industry (something pretty much every developer goes through at some point, unfortunately), the first Last of Us game remains sacred to me in a way I can't really explain, and in a way that might not even be justified, but my love for it ??is something I'm stubborn about protectin??g.

What I'm left with is a kind of apathy towards the rerelease, which is better than the alternative of being bitter about it, I guess. At the end of the day, I hope it m??eans that more people?? can enjoy the story that means so much to me, but I just can't touch it.

Someday I'll be able to play TLOU again, and I reall??y look forward to that day. But you can bet your ass it's going to? be the PS4 version.

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Get your new year off to a miserable start

Fans eagerly awaiting any and all news as it pertains to the TV adaptation of The Last of Us have received a small morsel of hope this week, with HBO's own Casey Bloys suggesting that the live-action exploits of Joel a??nd Ellie should be? hitting small screens nationwide as soon as early 2023.

Bloys comments came during a long-form interview with The Hollywood Reporter, where the Chief Content Officer lived up to his reputation for dropping major news in small, off-the-cuff remarks. While it was already a given that The Last of Us would be arriving at some point next year, Bloys' comment brings its premiere date closer still, which will come as something of a relief for impatie?nt fans, (see: all fans of everything).

Speaking of dates, Naughty Dog itself has noted that upcoming remake The Last of Us Part I has now officially gone gold, with code ready to be pressed to discs and sent whizzing out over the airways �affording the community yet another opportunity to experience the critically acclaimed stealth adventure all over again. It's been quite a speedy turnaround from official reveal to shelf date and, despite being the third rerelease in less than a decade, it's sure to be a guaranteed smash sell??er.

The Last of Us is scheduled to premiere on HBO in 2023. The Last of Us Part I will launch on PS5 Septem?ber 2. A PC edition is also in the works for a later date.

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See the world of VR Chat brought to (virtual) life

A new trailer dropped today for We Met In Virtual Reality. It's a documentary coming to HBO about virtual reality, and ??shot entirely in virtual reality.

We Met In Virtual Reality covers the communities in the popular app VR Chat. Filmed and dir?ected by Joe Hunting, it looks into relationships people have for??med in this virtual world, especially those affected by the outbreak of COVID-19 and lockdowns.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMBxESl38o0

What's really cool is how it covers these relationships and the way they formed in the virtual world. As the site describes, We Met In Virtual Reality "tenderly documents the stories of people experiencing love, loss and unexpected connection, expressing vulnerability around mental health struggles and questions about identity, offering a?? hyper real journey into ??the human experience of an online world that may soon shape the future."

The virtual world

VR has been up and down over the last half-decade or so. Headsets have come and gone, but several companies have weathered the storm and the technology has largely cemented itself. PlayStation is still looking to carry on with PS VR 2, and the Meta Quest VR headset really did a lot for making VR approachable and affordable. And also, seriously, Half-Life: Alyx is wild.

But this angle, looking at the social spaces of places like VR Chat has me intrigued, especially in the context of COVID-19 and lockdowns. I know a ton of my relationships with people had to go online and adapt, as did many others. It's how you end up with things like live concerts in Minecraft, and with people meeting each other and spending time together in places like VR Chat. Handled well, this could be really something.

I'm hopeful that like People Make Games' dive into the world of VR, it won't dwell too much on the risqué novelty, and really dive into the bonds formed like the trailer suggests. We Met In Virtual Reality premieres on HBO Max on July 27.

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Things are looking promising so far

Ever since HBO's TV series adaptation of The Last of Us was announced, fans have been clamoring for any and all information to see what the project might look like. The series is filming right now, meaning we're still a way out from its premiere, but we do have some new leaked footage to help tide us over for a while, as well as to give us a sense of what the show is going?? to look and feel like. I have to admit, I'm more skeptical than most because this game is very close to my heart, but I'm pleasantly surprised by what I've seen so far.

As of yesterday, new footage surfaced from the show's filming location in Alberta, Canada. The clips, taken in downtown Calgary, feature military vehicles, roaring crowds, and plenty of gunfire �cheers of "Freedom!" and "Fuck FEDRA!" can be heard?, the latter of which refers to the game's fictional Federal Disaster Response Agency.

//twitter.com/TheLastofUsTV/status/1522108689062182921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7??Ctwterm%5E1522108689062182921%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gamespot.com%2Farticles%2Fnew-last-of-us-tv-show-footage-lea??ks%2F1100-6503192%2F

Based on what the crowds are saying, we're probably looking at members of the Fireflies, the rebellion group that sets Joel on his journey in the first place. It's likely that Calgary is being used as a stand-in for Boston here, as most of the encounters with FEDRA in The Last of Us occur at the start of the ga?me, which begins in Massachusetts before taking players on a trek across the country.

Back in March, we got our first glimpse of Sam and Henry, two major characters in the game's second act, who have not yet officially been revealed a??s part of the cast and wh??ose actors still remain unknown.

Some fans also noted that in the photos, Bella Ramsey is wearing Ellie's winter clothes. That timeline doesn't quite match up considering Joel and Ellie encounter Sam and Henry in the summer section of the game, but it's likely the show will be making some changes in the timeline. That's fine with me �as long? as they do it well, that's all I care about.

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It's coming for us all

It's no secret that superhero movies have dominated the box office for over a decade now. It's also not a secret that a lot of people out there, myself included, have suffered from superhero movie burnout. Things have been winding down in the MCU after Endgame, and DC never really got much ??of a start to begin with. Now, it seems like Hollywood is running out of comic book material to mine, so they're moving on to another action-oriented market they haven't fully tapped into yet: the video game movie.

It seems like a new video game movie or show is being announced just about every day, and this trend is showing no signs of slowing down. Games are the natural next step after comic books �they're usually packed full of exciting fight sequences, and often center around the same fantasy or sci-fi tropes that audiences love. Plus there's the added bonus of the automatic aud??ience of people who already love the IPs that they're adapting. It's the obvious safe choice, something filmmakers gravitate towards every time.

[caption id="attachment_308971" align="alignnone" width="1200"] _{[Image Source: Polygon]}[/caption]

Working against the past

But there's just one problem �video game movies in the past have been notoriously bad, because for whatever reason filmmakers can't quite seem to hit their stride in translating interactive content to a more linear format. Of course, there have been a few exceptions over the years. The Sonic series has been doing well on the silver screen, but for every success, there are dozens of other failed game-to-film projects. The World of Warcrafts, Assassin's Creeds, and most recently, Uncharteds of the world have already telegraphed ??to the public that video g?ame movies are almost always a letdown.

On the other hand, we have shows like The Witcher and Arcane that have done exception?ally well, which provide a little bit more hope. I'm a staunch believer that games should have always been adapted in a serialized format anyway, especially if the ??creators are going for a 1:1 translation of the story that was originally from the game.

Games already tel??l their stories in a much longer form than films, so if you want to cut it down to a two-hour runtime rather than a fifteen- to thirty-hour one, cre??ators will need to make a lot of changes.

I'm all for changes, though, when they can add to the experience. Arcane was set in the world of League of Legends, but expanded upon that world in a way that players and viewers hadn't seen before. Trying to make an exact TV version of League of Legends would have been kind of ridiculous given that it's not a story-driven game, but the end result of Arcane ?is a good case study in how taking an idea and transforming it into something new (aka the whole point of adapting somet??hing to a new medium) is what will make the project shine the most.

Putting a new spin on the classics

This is especially true of games where the performances are their most iconic feature. It's what makes me most hesitant about HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us �Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are Joel and Ellie. They put so much of themselves into those characters, which means the new c?ast has some big shoes to fill. Those story moments are punctuated with such specific emotional beats from the actors, which were so perfectly captured by the animation �just try and tell me that the last shot of Ellie's face when she says "okay" isn't one of the most ??iconic and recognizable in all of gaming.

For me, the only way that the Last of Us show can see success is if those in charge of creating it lean into Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey's respective ??takes on Joel, Ellie, and the relationship between them rather than trying to perfectly recreate moments from the game.

Netflix's newly confirmed BioShock movie will have a similar problem; it also contains some of the most iconic performances in games history. It also has the additional problem of using more gaming conventions to convey its narrative than The Last of Us does, specifically through the radio. Having the player receive so much of the game's story content through a radio that plays as they explore was a smart way to keep the player engaged in the narrative,?? and although it's not impossible, I think it will be pretty difficult to keep the viewer engaged in the same way while also not giving up the twist right away.

I think the thing I find most frustrating about all of these adaptations is that they mostly just don't need to happen, not really. In theory, it's really cool to think of seeing some of my favorite stories in a new light �the abstract, nebulous idea of seeing a stylized, well-produced new take on BioShock or Portal is something I'm ravenous for.

If you're gonna do it, do it right

I can't know for sure why Hollywood keeps getting this stuff wrong, but my guess is that?? they don't understand how the interactivity of games makes them unique. It's an entirely different set of rules of how you tell a story, and that can be much more difficult to ??understand when one doesn't have a grasp on the medium in the first place. Any old film executive understands how a book works, but I can bet that plenty of them have never even played a video game before.

My only hope is that these studios continue to incorporate lots of people from the games industry who can help bri?dge that gap, and that they try to capture the spirit of what made the original fun rather than just copy and pasting story beat?s.

For now I will remain skeptical, s??o that when a good video game movie does come out, I can be pleasantly? surprised, rather than let down yet again.

_{[Featured Image Source: Variety]}

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It sounds like 2023 is the likely air date for HBO's adaptation

The Last of Us adaptation is still underway at HBO. And despite getting some new info on?? it recently, it looks like we'll be waiting unti?l next year to see this retelling.

In a new interview with Deadline, HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys says The Last of Us won't be making it out in 2022.

"It's not going to air in 2022," said Bloys. "They are still shooting in Canada. I imag?ine you will see it in '23."

While Bloys did say he's seen some early episodes and is excited about the project, he reiterates that The Last of Us will not hit HBO in 2022.

It hasn't been too long since the initial announcement of the adaptation in 2020, so it's not too much of a surprise. So far, HBO has announced many roles cast, but we've only had a glimpse of what's to come for the series.

With Uncharted debuting soon and other adaptations like Halo right around the corner, hopes might?? have been high that Joel and Ellie would get their turn soon too. Th??eir journey won't be showing up on HBO until the new year comes around again, though.

Naughty Dog, meanwhile, has been teasing a bit about what it's planning for The Last of Us. The studio was staffing up for a standalone multiplayer game last year, and one report indicated that a remake of the original Last of Us was in the works. We'll hopefully see what's in store for them, and HBO's version of Joel?? and Ellie, soon.

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O Riley? Yah, Riley

Work continues on the production of HBO's televisual adaptation of The Last of Us, with the latest news from the set being that the producers have cast up-and-coming thesp Storm Reid in the key role of Riley Abel, who and will no doubt remember from The Last of Us' DLC expansion Left Behind.

Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Reid has already bagged numerous choice roles in her very young career. Having made her big-screen debut in 2013 epic 12 Years a Slave, Reid had already appeared in a slew of prestige films and TV shows in relatively small roles before receiving her "big break" as a lead in 2018 fantasy sci-fi adventure A Wrinkle in Time as Meg Murray �a role that earned Reid the NAACP Award for Outstanding Bre?akthrough Role in a Motion Picture.

More recently, Reid can be spotted playing Bloodsport's estranged daughter, Tyla, in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad. Perhaps her most notable role is that of Gia Bennett, sister of Zendaya's Rue Bennett, in HBO's popular teenage drama Euphoria. For The Last of Us, Reid will join a cast that already includes Pedro Pascal (Joel Miller), Bella Ramsey (Ellie), and Nic??k Offerman (Bill).

With the talent on offer �and original creator Neil Druckmann involved in the writing and direction of the series �HBO's The Last of Us is shaping up to be a faithful adaptation of the gripping and grisly video games. The Last of Us is scheduled to premiere on HBO later in 2022.

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A scheduling conflict appears to have led to a new casting

Ron Swanson fans will be pleased. Nick Offerman has taken up the role of Bill, the crafty and reclusive survivor, for The Last of Us HBO adaptation.

According to Variety Offerman is taking up the role from Con O'Neill, who is no longer portraying Bill due to scheduling conflict. Offerman will play the character alongside Murray Bartlett's Frank. Those who have played the first Last of Us game will remember the early section set in "Bill's Town," and the tensions between th??e two characters.

The HBO Last of Us series looks set to follow the story of the PlayStation ?game made by Naughty Dog. Taking place years after humanity was overtaken by a fungal infection, Joel tries to deliver Ellie out of a ??quarantine zone and into the hands of the rogue Fireflies.

//twit??ter.com/Naughty_Dog/status/14682507?82625501187

HBO confirmed it would be adapting The Last of Us last year, with Pedro Pascal taking on the role of Joel and Bella Ramsey playing Ellie. Naughty Dog and HBO shared a first look image back in September, so?? production's been underway for at least a while.

Naughty Dog, meanwhile, might be working on more Last of Us for the future as well. Between confirmation earlier this year that the team is still working on multiplayer of some kind, and rumors of a remake of the first Last of Us, it seems like a lot is on the w?ay for this universe.

For the HBO adaptation at least, Nick Offerman seems like a great casting for Bill. His section is short but has a lot of impact, so it'll be interesting to see where the Parks and Recreation and Devs actor takes the character.

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"I got you, baby girl"

Naughty Dog celebrated The Last of Us Day over the weekend. That meant a few new merch items and a small update on how some projects are coming along, but also, a first look at an image from the upcoming The Last of Us TV series from HBO.

Naughty Dog, as well as the actors for Joel and Ellie (Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey) and other folks, tweeted the? first image we've seen of the series thus far. Though they're facing away from the camera, we can se?e both their attire and backpacks, and get a general sense of what the series is looking like.

//twitter?.com/Naughty_Dog/status/1442293121346248711

"The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us is in production," Pascal tweeted, tagging in Naughty Dog and PlayStation. HBO's version of The Last of Us was announced a while ago and was greenlit, though the COVID-19 pandemic did seem to create some problems. HBO has been steadily announcing its cast, with some (like Marlene's voice actress Merle Dandridge) reprising their role and others still appearing, but in different roles.

Naughty Dog also provided an update on what else is going on at the studio. It addressed the multiplayer mode that fans have been asking for, as The Last of Us Part II shipped without a multiplayer mode. In short, the team says, it is working on it.

"We see the community comments as many of you clamor for multiplayer and want updates," writes Naughty Dog's Rochelle Snyder. "For now, we’ll say that we love what the team is developing and want to give ??them time to build out their ambitious project, we’ll reveal more when it’s ready!"

Seeing as that's a TV series, multiplayer mode, and a rumored remake in the works, seems like a lot is going on over at Naughty Dog. But while it's only an image, I'm admittedly eager to see how the HBO series of The Last of Us ends up turning out.

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It's also got its Bill and Frank

The HBO adaptation of The Last of Us is p?icking up more of its cast, and now that lineup includes Jeffrey Pierce, the voice of Tommy in the video game. Pierce won't be playing Tommy, though.

Instead, as Deadline reports, Pierce will play Perry, a "rebel in a quarantine zone." Gabriel Luna, meanwhile, will be portraying Tommy in HBO's version of The Last of Us. Deadline also confirms that the series has cast Murray Bartlett and Con O'Neill as Frank and Bill, re?spectively.

Those who've played The Last of Us will recognize Bill and Frank, as the town where th??e two live is an early area in the game. I'm curious as to whether the casting means we'll see more of Bill and Frank together, before their partnership falls apart to the point where Joel and Ellie see it in the video game.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=W01L70IGBgE

As for the video game voice actors, Pierce isn't the first Last of Us voice actor to get cast in the series. But while Pierce is playing a different character, Marlene's voice actress Merle Dandridge will be reprising her role in the live-action Last of Us series.

The show has already cast its Joel and Ellie, as Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and it's been gradually building out the supporting cast too. I'd say things are looking more optimistic for this Naughty Dog adaptation than it does for the Uncharted movie, at least.

Video game adaptations have been continuing to spread out across the industry, though. Netflix has been scooping them up in particular, with projects like the live -action Resident Evil series popping up alongside its growing success with The Witcher.

We might be in a golden time for video games getting live-action adaptations, and at least so far, they've all been turning out pretty okay. (Except you, Netflix's Dragon's Dogma.) Seeing how the HBO Last of Us turns out should be fun.

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