A potential release date for HBO’s adaptation of The Last Of Us has been hinted at by the pilot director, Kantemir Balagov. Balagov, best known for his WWII film Beanpole, updated his Instagram bio to include the year 2022 for the upcoming adaptation of The Last Of Us, which suggests that we might see the show earlier than originally expected. The listing can be found among his earlier and upcoming projects, including 2017’s Closeness.
Filming commenced at the beginning of July and was not expected to wrap until mid-2022, with a release date estimated as far away as 2023. So could we be graced with HBO’s adaptation of Naughty Dog’s acclaimed post-pandemic game earlier than expected?
An exact date remains to be seen at this stage, but it’s an exciting prospect nevertheless. It should be noted that Balagov could simply be referring to the wrap date for the show and not the actual series premiere.
The adaptation stars former Game Of Thrones’ actors Pedro Pascal as Joel, and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, respectively. They’ll be joined by Merle Dandridge as Marlene, the only actress who has signed on to reprise their role from the game. And Terminator: Dark Fate’s Gabriel Luna as Joel’s brother Tommy, and Thandiwe Newton’s daughter, Nico Parker as Joel’s daughter, Sarah.
The news was recently broken on Twitter by Culture Crave after the series co-creator Craig Mazin from Chernobyl, confirmed in a Scriptnotes podcast that the series would consist of 10 episodes. Mazin further confirmed that only two more directors were left to be announced for the show.
'The Last of Us' S1 will have 10 episodes
🎙 @clmazin | 🎨 andy.c.white pic.twitter.com/2aiGtqZBxN
— ScreenTime (@screentime) July 6, 2021
In May, during a presentation from Sony as part of their “Investors Relations” day, the company appeared to hint toward a potential PC port for Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
