Eagled-eyed netizens discovered HBO’s The Last of Us release date after it was prematurely published on the HBO Max app.
The text description, which was scrubbed from the streaming platform shortly after it made the rounds on Twitter, indicated the forthcoming video game adaptation was scheduled to premiere on January 15th of 2023 (US) and January 16th of 2023 (UK) – January 16th would also be when it hits Australia via Foxtel, Foxtel GO, and Binge.
Since this article was initially published yesterday, those dates have been officially confirmed by both HBO and Binge.
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HBO’s The Last of Us: All Things Production (Behind The Scenes)
It’s been well over two years since the live-action run of Naughty Dog’s wildly successful (and award-winning) 2013 title was confirmed.
Co-created and co-written by the creative director of the original game Neil Druckmann and Hollywood veteran Craig Mazin (Chernobyl), principal photography concluded just a few months ago around mid-June.
Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) has directed the pilot episode of HBO’s The Last of Us with the following nine episodes helmed by Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbas (total of 10 episodes for season 1).
Neil Druckmann, Craig Mazin, and Naughty Dog President Evan Wells have served as executive producers alongside Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan of PlayStation Productions, Rose Lam, and former HBO President Carolyn Strauss.
What will HBO’s The Last of Us be about?
Here’s the official synopsis for HBO’s The Last of Us:
The story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal) – a hardened survivor – is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey) – a 14-year-old girl – out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, they both must traverse across the US in and depend on each other for survival.
In other words, not all that dissimilar from the original game’s story.
Do we know The Last of Us cast members?
In addition to Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the show’s lead characters, HBO’s The Last of Us boasts a stacked cast that includes Gabriel Luna (Terminator: Dark Fate, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Joel’s younger brother and former soldier Tommy, Nico Parker (Dumbo) as Joel’s 14-year-old daughter Sarah, Anna Torv (Fringe, Mindhunter) as Joel’s smuggling partner Tess, Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets) as Kathleen, and Merle Dandridge (The Last of Us video game, The Flight Attendant) as Marlene – resistance leader to the Fireflies.
The series will also guest star Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) and Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) as Frank and Bill, two post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town; Storm Reid (Euphoria) as Boston orphan Riley, Jeffrey Pierce (The Last of Us video games) as quarantine zone rebel Perry, Lamar Johnson and Keivonn Woodard as Kansas City-based brothers Henry and Sam, plus Graham Greene and Elaine Miles as Wyoming-based married couple Marlon and Florence,
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Has HBO confirmed The Last of Us release date?
Once again, as of today, both HBO and Australia’s Binge has officially confirmed when we can expect the series to premiere.
In terms of HBO and HBO Max, The Last of Us release date is January 15th of 2023 / January 16th of 2023; as for Foxtel, Foxtel GO, and Binge, keep an eye out for it during the latter.
Does HBO’s The Last of Us have a trailer yet?
HBO’s The Last of Us received its first trailer this past September.
The preview offered – which features minimal dialogue – depicts the fall of civilisation as we know it intercut with glimpses of the ensuing chaos, including a Clicker that’s terrifyingly faithful to the source material (mutated fungus heads and all). At the centre of all this, we have Pascal’s Joel and Ramsey’s Ellie.
“Save who you can save,” a voice can be heard whispering at the teaser trailer’s close.
In an earlier preview of HBO’s The Last of Us (see: here), Joel and Ellie cautiously trudge toward an abandoned bridge covered in snow.
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“Everybody I have cared for has either died or left me,” Ellie can be heard expressing in a voiceover, intercut with glimpses of Joel frantically carrying his daughter to safety.
“You have no idea what loss is,” responds Joel, ostensibly referring to his daughter (spoilers).
This is punctuated by the reveal of a scraggly-bearded Nick Offerman as Bill, who removes what appears to be a gas mask. Ron Swanson would certainly be proud.
Check out The Last of Us trailer above.
