This might just turn out to be the adaptation of our dreams. HBO has just dropped a full-length trailer for The Last of Us, and it features a song that video game fans will recognize all too well.
Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the lead roles of Joel and Ellie, respectively, the show is an adaptation of the acclaimed 2013 game by Naughty Dog. Chernobyl‘s Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog’s own Neil Druckmann are overseeing the project, which, according to this latest trailer you see above, is trying its hardest to recapture the magic of the original.
The trailer highlights the strained relationship between Joel and Ellie, and how reluctantly the former accepted to accompany her across the apocalyptic landscape of the United States. There’s also a melodious cover of “Take Me On” accompanying the trailer, which most fans would not only as the hit ’80s classic but the song that Ellie gave a gut-wrenchingly emotional rendition of during The Last of Us Part II.
All in all, it seems that Druckmann and Mazin are here to tug on your heartstrings again, so go in expecting anything, even a deviation from the original storyline that you wouldn’t see coming. In fact, the producers may have opted to combine the narrative beats from the two games into a coherent story for the live-action adaptation, so, without going into spoilers, who knows how long it’ll take them to reach that defining moment in Ellie’s life which took place in Part II?
At any rate, The Last of Us is slated for a Jan. 15 premiere on HBO platforms.