Skip to main content
  • TotalFilm
  • Edge
  • Newsarama
  • Retrogamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+
US EditionUS CA EditionCanada UK EditionUK AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. TV
  3. Action Shows
  4. The Last of Us TV show

The Last of Us HBO co-creator says the TV series fleshes out the game's story: "There is so much in-between"

News
By Jordan Gerblick published 5 January 2023

"We are telling more"

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

The Last of Us
(Image credit: HBO)
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Flipboard
  • Email
Share this article
Join the conversation
Follow us
Add us as a preferred source on Google
Get the GamesRadar+ Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox


By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

You are now subscribed

Your newsletter sign-up was successful


An account already exists for this email address, please log in.
Subscribe to our newsletter

The Last of Us HBO co-creator Craig Mazin has suggested the TV series fleshes out the game's story.

In a new promotional video shared to Twitter ahead of the Last of Us series' January 15 premiere, Mazin touched on the sensitive subject of making creative changes to the source material.

"When you're adapting something like a video game, changes have to be done smartly," Mazin said. "We are telling more. There is so much in-between."

Just this week, The Last of Us director Neil Druckmann, who also serves as co-creator on the HBO series, assured fans that the TV adaptation doesn't diverge from the source work in a significant way, thereby avoiding the biggest complaint about Game of Thrones' last few seasons. Still, since the first game - which is what the first season of the show is based on - only has about 1.5 hours of cumulative cinematics, there's really only one way HBO can fill out a full nine episodes of story.

Personally, I'm excited to see how the capable hands of Mazin and Druckmann fill in some of the blanks from the games, like, potentially, how Joel ended up in Boston after starting out the game in Texas. There are plenty of other unanswered questions we could see some clarity around in the series.

In case you need any more assurance that HBO probably isn't going to dramatically reshape Naughty Dog's original story, last week Druckmann called the TV adaptation "the best, most authentic game adaptation." He added, "Sometimes adaptations haven't worked because the source material is not strong enough. Sometimes they haven't worked because the people making it don't understand the source material."

We do know the series will tone down a lot of the violence seen in the games, but we've seen no indication that the story will be altered.

Sign up for the Total Film Newsletter

Bringing all the latest movie news, features, and reviews to your inbox

By submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.

The Last of Us TV season one is set to premiere on HBO and HBO Max on January 15.

Here are all of the new TV shows of 2023 to look forward to.

Jordan Gerblick
Jordan Gerblick
Social Links Navigation
Staff Writer

After earning an English degree from ASU, I worked as a corporate copy editor while freelancing for places like SFX Magazine, Screen Rant, Game Revolution, and MMORPG on the side. I got my big break here in 2019 with a freelance news gig, and I was hired on as GamesRadar's west coast Staff Writer in 2021. That means I'm responsible for managing the site's western regional executive branch, AKA my home office, and writing about whatever horror game I'm too afraid to finish.

Latest in Action Shows
Jin, Mugen, and Fuu standing in a row
Samurai Champloo is getting a live-action Netflix series from One Piece studio, and the original creator is on board
 
 
Alan Ritchson in Reacher season 3
Reacher star Alan Ritchson says season 4 is coming this year: "It's by far the best season we've had yet"
 
 
Spider-Noir aiming his webshooter
Spider-Noir is the "same character, different version": "It's not a continuation of Into The Spider-Verse"
 
 
Charlie Cox as Matt Murdock in Daredevil: Born Again season 2
New Daredevil: Born Again season 2 TV spot is packed full of new footage, including another look at villain Bullseye
 
 
Aaron Pierre as John Stewart and Kyle Chandler as Hal Jordan in Lanterns.
DC fans aren't impressed with the suit in the new HBO Lanterns trailer
 
 
Hal Jordan's brownish Green Lantern uniform hanging in a closet
The first trailer for DC's Lanterns has leaked and it has a surprising lack of Green Lantern in it
 
 
Latest in News
Donkey Kong Bananza screenshot of Donkey Kong punching through the landscape with pieces of banana flying through the air
With Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo learned "it is more fun to destroy that which is beautiful"
 
 
An apparently dead person wearing a matted fur bunny suit
Severance star Adam Scott's new horror movie Hokum just got an intensely creepy first trailer
 
 
Steam Machine with beige backdrop and sad face on front made from closed bracket and colon.
Valve pleads for "a line on a bunch of RAM, we are in the market" as AI makes building Steam Machines a challenge
 
 
Dispatch screenshots
Dispatch is lying to you about RNG just like XCOM, but don't worry, it's for your own good
 
 
Screenshot from Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, showing a smiling female protagonist holding a sword in a lush green forest environment.
The final Trails game will be announced in 2031 and released in 2032, Falcom president confirms
 
 
A close-up of Grace talking with someone through glass in Resident Evil Requiem
Resident Evil Requiem Grace actor might be even more scared playing Capcom's horror game than her character is living it
 
 
LATEST ARTICLES
  1. Donkey Kong Bananza screenshot of Donkey Kong punching through the landscape with pieces of banana flying through the air
    1
    With Donkey Kong Bananza, Nintendo learned "it is more fun to destroy that which is beautiful"
  2. 2
    Severance star Adam Scott's new horror movie Hokum just got an intensely creepy first trailer
  3. 3
    Dispatch is lying to you about RNG just like XCOM, but don't worry, it's for your own good
  4. 4
    Valve pleads for "a line on a bunch of RAM, we are in the market" as AI makes building Steam Machines a challenge
  5. 5
    The final Trails game will be announced in 2031 and released in 2032, Falcom president confirms

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google
  • Terms and conditions
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Accessibility statement
  • Careers
  • About us
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...