Craig Mazin, the creative mind behind HBO’s Chernobyl, will adapt the PlayStation exclusive The Last of Us into a TV show. Neil Druckmann, who wrote and directed the game, will work with Mazin on the project.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, “The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television in association with PlayStation Productions. It will be the first television series from PlayStation Productions.”
This is the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions. The Last of Us is a brilliant achievement in storytelling and character development, and we are lucky to have the opportunity to work with this team to adapt it.
Chris Parnell, co-president of Sony Pictures Television Studios
Mazin says he’s been dreaming about adapting The Last of Us for television for years. And he sounds like the right person to produce the show, given his work on the gut-wrenching and yet moving experience that is Chernobyl.
The HBO adaptation will mostly focus on the original game, with possible incursions into the territory of the upcoming sequel which is due out in May 29.
The news comes at a time when the Netflix Witcher adaptation has shown how the IP holders can capitalize on adapting their franchises for other entertainment categories. The release of the Witcher show contributed to The Witcher 3’s surge in sales during Q4 2019. U.S. December physical sales for the game were 554 percent higher than December 2018. In December, the game also had more concurrent players than it did at launch.
It’s safe to assume that the 17 million copies that The Last of Us has already sold (counting the PS4 remaster) will not be the game’s last achievement. And as confirmed by Sony Pictures Television Studios, more PlayStation hits might be adapted for television in the future.
We’re so psyched to be teaming up with @HBO to create a new The Last of Us series with @Neil_Druckmann and @clmazin at the helm: https://t.co/AzjxMdjTbQ pic.twitter.com/6gFjdXtiMw
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) March 5, 2020