HBO has finally shared the first teaser trailer for its upcoming The Last of Us show, and it looks like it could be really good. The show will star Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie during the events of the first game. So far, the show looks like it is going to be pretty faithful to the original game and has the potential to be one of the better video game adaptations. If the story is even half as good as the games then the show could be a fantastic ride from start to finish.
The Last of Us will adapt the first title in the series, but it will most likely not stop there. If the show is received well, then HBO could greenlight a second season that covers the events of the second game. From there, the show could very well get a third season, but there is no third game to back it up. The show may go past the games, as The Last of Us Part 3 has not been announced yet, and that may not be a good thing. However, this issue may be able to be avoided if the show filled in some story gaps instead.
The Last of Us Part 2 Takes Place Five Years After the First One
The Last of Us Part 1 began the journey of Joel and Ellie in this post-apocalyptic world, and it is considered one of the best stories in gaming. The Last of Us Part 2 continued their story and saw the characters deal with the aftermath of the decisions that they made in the first. Instead of setting the second game right after the first, Naughty Dog chose to pick up the story five years down the line and that leaves a lot of room for new story.
A lot changed in the five years between the first and second The Last of Us games. Joel and Ellie had built new lives for themselves in Jackson and the events of the first game were a distant memory. In those five years, Ellie and Joel's relationship had fallen apart, and they had seemingly gone their separate ways. The characters had also met an assortment of whole new survivors, and Ellie had even found herself a girlfriend in Dina.
The Last of Us Part 2 fills in some of the events that took place during those five years, but that is not the main focus of the story. The main focus is Ellie's quest for revenge and newcomer Abby's own mission to save her friends. There are a couple of flashbacks strewn throughout the story that further explain what happened during the time skip, but that is the extent of it.
The HBO Show Will Need More Content Past the Two Games
HBO is currently working with two The Last of Us games, but if the TV show is as well received as the video games, then there is a very high chance that it too will go on for more than two seasons, which may force it to go past the games. The Last of Us Part 3 is coming out at some point, but it is not on the horizon yet. This would mean that the HBO show would have to continue the story of Ellie in uncharted territory, but there's room for that.
The five years between the two The Last of Us games could make a good setting for a season or two worth of story. Viewers could see Joel deal with the aftermath of his decision at the end of the first game and watch the slow decline of his relationship with Ellie over a couple of seasons. Instead of skipping five years to get to the plot of the second game, HBO could gradually get there by showing the events of the time skip in far more detail.
This five year gap could not only showcase Joel and Ellie's declining relationship, but it could also introduce viewers to TLoU's Abby way before she takes a golf club to Joel's head at the beginning of The Last of Us Part 2. They could see her journey to discover Joel's location and all the trials that went along with that. It would be a brand-new tale as the games have not shown players that side of the story, but it has the potential to be very interesting if done well.
A story during the five-year gap could also give viewers more insight into the personal lives of these characters. The Last of Us Part 2 introduces players to a lot of brand-new characters including Ellie's girlfriend Dina. There is a whole backstory that players only hear about regarding many of these characters personal lives and the events that led them here. Dina was very close to fellow survivor Jesse, and was even pregnant with his child during the second game. Ellie also dated someone named Cat that players have never met, but she was a major influence on Ellie. Jackson is filled with many other characters that are waiting for their stories to be told, and the HBO show could craft many seasons off of that.
HBO's The Last of Us looks like it could be a very faithful adaptation of the games, but it is working with very limited content. The show could very well go past two seasons, and that would mean that it needs more story to adapt, unless HBO really draws out the games' stories. While it could tell brand-new stories after the events of The Last of Us Part 2, it may be a lot better if it told stories inside that five year time skip. This would not only give viewers a better insight into the events between games, but it could also give Naughty Dog enough time to release a Part 3 before HBO gets there first.
HBO's The Last of Us airs in 2023.