Happy Outbreak Day!
OK, maybe it wasn’t the happiest of days in The Last of Us universe, considering all the death and cannibalism and Rat Kings that would soon spread across the globe. But in the real world, today is a good day. Why? Because in honor (?) of the nine-year anniversary of Outbreak Day, HBO has released the teaser trailer for The Last of Us.
Based on one of the most acclaimed video games ever (and its excellent if divisive sequel), the series follows Joel (played by Pedro Pascal), a grizzly and grieving middle-aged man, who’s tasked with escorting Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teenager who’s immune to the deadly virus, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The teaser effectively captures the same sense of intense moodiness — and constant threat of danger — as the video game, which Pascal told GQ was the intention.
“There’s a very, very creative way of honoring what’s important and also preserving what is iconic to the experience of the video game, and also things that you wouldn’t necessarily expect. And then directions that you would expect it to go, and it might not… They’re doing some really smart things, is all I can say,” he said about the HBO series, while also comparing it to The Mandalorian. If only Baby Yoda was there to protect Joel and Ellie from the Clickers.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO in 2023.