Sam Raimi to produce movie of video game The Last of Us for Screen Gems

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

Popular video game THE LAST OF US will be getting the big screen treatment, courtesy of Sam Raimi and Ghost House Pictures. Back in November there were rumblings that Sony was looking to adapt the horror video game and now we know it will be released via Screen Gems. Cast and crew are completely unknown at this early stage but expect there to be a high level of interest in the project based on the acclaim the game has garnered to date. We do know that creative director Neil Druckmann will work on the film the same way that he worked on the game.

Here is the synopsis for THE LAST OF US, the game:

Hardened survivor Joel teams with young and capable companion Ellie to journey through a radically transformed world some 20 years after an infectious pandemic ravages humanity.

Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper issued this statement about the deal.

“Screen Gems’ Brian Dukes and Eric Ling brought this game to my attention insisting we go after it, and when I saw the quality of the storytelling, I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community and that Neil Druckmann must write the screenplay. I am thrilled that SCEA’s Riley Russell was able to get me in front of Neil and Evan Wells to plead my case. Sam and his team at Ghost House round out the perfect team to help realize Neil’s vision.”

Having not played the game, I cannot speak as to whether a movie is even warranted, but based on the trailers, this could be along the lines of the OLDBOY remake. With video games like this and ASSASSIN’S CREED taking such a cinematic approach to their production, is a movie really necessary? The zombie/virus storyline in THE LAST OF US is a popular plot device these days, but the acclaim for the game comes primarily from the character development it displays.

I am always up for a quality zombie movie so here is hoping this one ends up a winner, despite being associated with the more middling productions from Ghost House.