Craig Mazin says HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us will enhance the game

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

A big-screen adaptation of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us had been in development for a number of years, but several months ago, the project transformed into an HBO series which will be written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann. The hit video-game takes place decades after a pandemic has radically changed civilization (too soon!), with infected humans running wild and survivors killing each other for food and supplies. The player takes control of Joel, a survivor who is hired to smuggle a 14 year-old girl, Ellie, across the United States.

While speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Chernobyl Special (via IGN), Craig Mazin gave a small update on The Last of Us, which he says will enhance the original game, rather than undo it.

I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licensed to someone else, those people don't really understand it, or are going to change it. In this case, I'm doing it with the guy who did it, and so the changes that we're making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.

Mazin added that he's huge fan of The Last of Us and that getting to tackle the project is a "dream come true," but he admits that it's somewhat intimidating when you factor in the rather intense emotions which the video-game franchise has generated. "We're creating anew and we're also reimagining what is already there to present a different format," Mazin said. "It's kind of a dream come true for me. I'm a little bit scared because a lot of emotions connected to this game are rather intense. I think I'm probably going to go hide in a bunker for a while because you can't make everyone happy!" The Last of Us pilot will be helmed by Chernobyl director Johan Renck, who is also involved as an executive producer. "I’m an executive producer on it and attached to it," said Renck last month. "It’s an ongoing TV series. So that’s not something that I will be able to take on to that extent, but I’m part of that series and I will be directing at least the pilot." Renck also teased that his participation could go beyond the pilot by saying, "Then we’ll see how it goes on further."