Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is getting a televised adaptation on HBO, which is expected to debut in 2023.
The series is highly anticipated by fans of the brutal, but utterly beloved video game franchise, and new details are being carefully monitored by its eager fanbase. Pedro Pascal, of Game of Thrones and Mandalorian fame, is set to star as the game’s adult protagonist, Joel Miller, alongside Bella Ramsey — also of Game of Thrones fame — as Ellie Williams.
Pascal recently spoke up about the upcoming series, teasing fans with minor details about the show’s “harrowing” first season.
Warning: This article contains spoilers for the plot of The Last of Us.
The story behind The Last of Us sees Joel, a smuggler in post-apocalyptic Boston, working to transport the young Ellie across the ravaged United States in hopes of discovering a cure for the virus behind the country’s decimation. The story is violent, visceral, and deeply emotional, and has been lauded as a stellar example of what video games are capable of.
The television adaptation seems poised to maintain the soul of what made its source material such a phenomenon, if Pascal’s comments are any indication. The world is reportedly “covered in clickers and spores, and the elements of Alberta,” and according to Pascal, the team is “having an amazing time.”
Despite the clear delight he’s taking in being part of the project, Pascal says the story behind HBO’s adaptation is “totally harrowing.”
“I don’t know if we’ll make it, but it’ll be completely worth it,” he said. “It is amazing. And I’m having an amazing time. I don’t know if I’ll make it.”
Pascal is well aware of his character’s ultimate fate, according to an interview with Comicbook.com, but notes that he “may not even make it to that.” While what, exactly, Pascal means by this is unclear, it is ramping up excitement for the upcoming series.
