New footage from the set of HBO’s The Last of Us TV series shows Joel, Ellie, and Tess making their way through an eerily deserted city. So far what’s been seen of the upcoming series looks considerably similar to what fans have experienced in the first game. The highly popular Naughty Dog game seems perfectly suited for a live-action adaptation of any sort, and while a film was originally considered, ultimately it was a TV series that won out.
With ten episodes previously confirmed by HBO for the first season of The Last of Us, there’s plenty of room to delve into essential details and considerably build the post-apocalyptic world inhabited by Joel and Ellie. The first entry in the series was delivered in 2013, introducing a third-person horror survival game that has consistently been referred to as one of the greatest video games of all time ever since. Though the concept of a world in which the greater human population has been decimated by diseased, zombie-like hordes isn’t exactly an original one, the extensive focus on the characters and their relationships is one of The Last of Us’ most powerful traits. The degree of realism in the game’s characters continued with last year’s The Last of Us Part II and fans are eager to see those strengths passed on to the upcoming TV series when it releases next year at some point.
With the no definite release date currently set for The Last of Us, however, many fans have been carefully keeping track of the show’s production. The glimpses of the post-apocalyptic world previously only seen in the game are quickly becoming a reality, and now The Last of Us Updates Twitter account has provided yet another look at the series. The latest footage shows off a very deserted looking city scene as Joel, Ellie and Tess carefully make their way along. It’s not a very lengthy clip, but it instantly brings the first game to life:
Click Here to Watch the Video on Twitter
As fans of the game are well aware, Tess is a character who doesn’t feature for very long. Unable to move on past Boston as a result of having been bitten by an infected, Tess dies, leaving Joel and Ellie to continue their journey without her. The above footage obviously takes place prior to any of this, but it will be interesting to see how many episodes it takes in the series to reveal Tess’ fate. A lot can be done with ten episodes, which could result in audiences getting more information about Tess and in particular, about her relationship with Joel. The two had worked as partners in their dealings with black market goods, and as the game progresses, Joel refuses to allow any discussion or reminiscence of Tess. Perhaps this will change in the series, helping further flesh out the character’s lives.
Exactly what this TV adaptation of The Last of Us will bring is surprisingly difficult to say, despite the extensive knowledge fans already have of the games. There’s yet to be any sort of indication that the purists out there have anything to worry about with regard to how similar the series will be to the games, and there’s reason to feel confident about the show’s prospects given its HBO connection. It took nearly a decade for a sequel to arrive to the first The Last of Us game, so although the arrival of the series is still several months away at least, fans will stay patient knowing that what’s coming could very well be worth the wait.