The First Image From HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ Series With Pedro Pascal Looks Exactly Like The Video Game

On The Last of Us Day, HBO shared the first look of the TV adaptation of the acclaimed video game. It shows Joel and Ellie, played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, standing in a field looking at a grounded airplane. I’ll admit, the first time I saw the image, I thought it was from the Naughty Dog game — the costumes are perfect.

“When I first saw them on set in full costume, I was like: ‘Hooooooly shit! It’s Joel & Ellie! !’ The @HBO adaptation of @Naughty_Dog’s The Last of Us is full steam ahead!” Naughty Dog co-president and The Last of Us director and writer Neil Druckmann tweeted. “Can’t wait to show you more (from all of our projects!).” The Last of Us does not currently have a premiere date, but every episode will have a Game of Thrones-sized budget, so HBO is clearly hoping for a, well, Game of Thrones-sized hit (casting Oberyn “The Red Viper” Martell and Lyanna Mormont should have been the first clue).

When asked about the differences between the show and the game, Druckmann replied, “In the game, [you have to] train the player about mechanics. You have to have more violence and more spectacle to some degree than you would need on a TV show because you don’t need to train people on how to use a gun. So that’s something that’s been really different, and HBO’s been great in pushing us to move away from hardcore action and focus more on the drama of the character. Some of my favorite episodes so far have deviated greatly from the story, and I can’t wait for people to see them.”

As someone who considers The Last of Us his favorite game ever, I can’t wait to see it.