Lets talk about The Last of Us and a New Podcast!
Hey Everyone,
Welcome back to the Lab.
Sorry for the delay in posts recently, We have been very busy planning the future of the lab and many projects are in the pipeline, but more of that at another time (One in particular at the end of this post). Today we are going to be talking all about The Last of Us and its new TV Show!
Let’s get into it!
The Last of Us is a game that was released in 2013 and the story immediately took the hearts of gamers around the world. The Story; The World and The Characters have made this game; It’s DLC (Left Behind) and it’s successor (The Last of Us Part 2) some of the most beloved games of all time. So when Naughty Dog announced last year it was teaming up with HBO to create a series based on the events of the first game, people were excited yet also apprehensive, which is understandable.
For those who have not played The Last of Us Part 1, it takes place in a post-apocalyptic world where an outbreak of a mutant fungus has devastated the United states. 20 years after Outbreak Day and the game centres around the Character of Joel (Played by Troy Baker), a smuggler in a new world who has been given the initial job of smuggling a 14 year old called Ellie (Ashley Johnson) out of a quarantine zone and to a safe place on the other side of America. The games primary focus is on the friendship and Father/Daughter Relationship between Joel and Ellie as they travel the country together. It was a game that took the world by storm, many giving praise to the games direction, story and performances.
When it comes to the series itself, we know a few details so far. We know that Naughty Dog is on board alongside having Neil Druckmann (Director of the Games) on board to help write and executive produce. Also confirmed to be on board was Writer Craig Mazin, who is most recently known for penning the HBO series Chernobyl. Apart from that, not a lot else was known about the show…
Until now.
We now have confirmation on who will play Joel and Ellie. When the series was announced, we were made aware that Troy Baker and Ashely Johnson would not reprise their roles and it would go to different actors, which is sad to see, yet it is also refreshing to see new actors breathe new life into these roles. We now know that Joel will be played by none other than Pedro Pascal. Whilst Ellie will be played by star Belle Ramsey and fans are loving it!
Pedro Pascal is at the top of his game right now, whilst starring in Wonder Woman 1984; Kingsman The Golden Circle and Narcos, he is most notable for The Mandalorian. Fans are loving him in these roles and him now taking on the role of Joel is bound to be exciting. Belle Ramsey is also known for Game of Thrones and more recently His Dark Materials on BBC/HBO and she is the up and coming star that this show could use and thrive from. Both have much to offer these roles and it will certainly be interesting to see how the characters will change and adapt to these new actors behind them.
It will also be interesting to see how the show tackles some of the games most pivotal scenes, whilst the show will be taking the games story and trying to adapt it for a new audience, it will have to use some of the games most crucial scenes for the story to work. For example, the game's opening act is a devastating yet fantastic cinematic play and that is partly due to the performance of its actors such as Troy Baker. The series will have to emulate this effect but with new Pedro Pascal, which can be done, but it will also have to make the scene fresh and new for audiences of the game which will certainly be tough but not impossible. The games are already very cinematic but if any studio will be able to tackle a game and its scenes like this one, it would be HBO.
At the moment no date has been released for the series yet but we will keep you updated with any news as time goes on.
What do you think? Are you excited for the show?
If you want to hear more of our thoughts, we also now have a podcast!
Rock; Spock and Two Smoking Microphones is a new podcast from us here at the lab and good friend of the blog Connor Nagi. Each episode we talk about the latest pop culture news, whilst tackling a topic of the week, we also have reviews, thoughts and theories and trailer talk. Most recently we spoke about The Last of Us casting alongside many recent trailers including Godzilla Vs Kong!
The podcast is available every Monday (Alongside a minisode every friday) on Apple Podcasts; Spotify and Stitcher now, go give it a listen, rate and share.
We will be back with a new post very soon,
Until then,
Stay Safe, look after eachother,
Harry x