Here is a sentence I never thought I would write. The Last of Us premieres tonight on HBO and HBO Max.
It's a real feeling. Imagine, in just a few hours, Joel and Ellie will be introduced to the world with a brand new attraction. I am very grateful The team at Naughty Dog, HBO, Sony Pictures Entertainment, PlayStation Productions and of course the cast and crew who helped us achieve this historic moment.
I'm so glad we found Pedro and Bella in our iconic leads, Joel and Ellie. I can't wait for the world to experience their character and other memorable characters in a whole new way.
Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann also wanted to jump in with a quick message for you.
“It was an incredible honor (and one of the highlights of my life) to work with Craig Mazin and the HBO team to bring The Last of Us to life as a television show. Strong pride cannot describe how I feel about how the show turned out. I truly believe it captures the soul of the game that many of you have fallen in love with. As you can imagine, I'm very excited (and incredibly anxious) for PlayStation and Naughty Dog fans to dive into the first episode and experience the love that the cast and crew have poured into this adaptation. From me and everyone at Naughty Dog, thank you. This opportunity exists because of your great passion and support. We are eternally grateful. Survive and survive."
– Neil Druckman, Vice President of Naughty Dog
And another quick note for The Last of Us vets. The HBO show broadly follows the game's main story arc and is fairly faithful in tone and spirit. But I hope it's not surprising that this is not a step-by-step adaptation of the game. Neil, Craig and the production team took this opportunity to include new characters, themes and locations only when they felt comfortable with the characters and the world, the "spirit" of The Last of Us. Sometimes it's just to expand on ideas briefly explored in the game, or to better represent the episodic show's narrative structure.
But rest assured, The Last of Us stays true to the spirit of the game. We hope you'll join us tonight and let us know what you think.