With the news yesterday that The Last of Us would, at long last, be seeing a live-action adaptation through the form of an HBO television show, fans are already wondering how much the minds behind its creation know about video games. The creator of The Last of Us, Neil Druckmann, will be co-writing the adaptation, however, does fellow producer and writer Craig Mazin have much knowledge of the medium?
As it turns out, the writer behind Chernobyl seems to know a lot about video games, with the award-winning writer taking to Twitter to discuss his love of The Last of Us and a number of other brilliant titles. In fact, the man behind the upcoming TV show even went as far as to list his 20 favorite games of all time, and the lineup is chock full of absolute classics.
The list, which is supposedly in no particular order, features a number of majorly beloved franchise names, including Fallout 3, Grand Theft Auto 5, Super Mario 64, BioShock, the Mass Effect trilogy, Batman: Arkham City, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, and, naturally, The Last of Us. His list of favorites seems to indicate that Mazin is both a lover of newer and older titles, with his affection spreading to some of Nintendo's oldest and best games as well as a number of more modern RPGs.
Although Mazin's absolutely incredible work on Chernobyl honestly speaks for itself, knowing that he's a true lover of the medium makes his inclusion in The Last of Us' TV debut all the more tantalizing. If there's anybody who can bring Joel and Ellie's now-iconic story to a cinematic medium, it would need to be somebody who has experienced what makes the original title such a special piece of gaming history, and evidently Mazin has the credentials to do it.
For those who missed out on yesterday's big news, it seems HBO will be bringing The Last of Us to live-action. A release date has yet to be announced, however, it seems as though Neil Druckmann will be working with Mazin on the script after the release of The Last of Us 2, which will no doubt be the esteemed game director's focus for the time being. Seeing as the long-awaited sequel comes out in May, there's evidently never been a better time to be a Last of Us fan, with Joel and Ellie's post-apocalyptic adventures seemingly not going anywhere anytime soon.
A TV adaptation of The Last of Us is currently in production.