HBO's The Last Of Us director says the show won't overstay its welcome

I can’t remember the last time I was this excited for a TV show to premiere - and I’m not alone. My social media feed is full of hype for HBO’s The Last of Us series. From the casting to the trailers, The Last of Us could truly be something special. I’ve even convinced my parents they need to watch it - and trust me when I say ‘zombie apocalypse’ is usually an impossible sell.

Starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, The Last of Us is an adaptation of Naughty Dog’s iconic 2013 game. We know that the show promises to be a faithful adaptation, opting to focus on the central story - more so than being a set of strung-together action set pieces. Game actors Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are set to appear, Troy as a member of David’s gang and Ashley as Ellie’s mum Anna. Despite the fact that the show is yet to premiere though, fans are already looking ahead to a potential second season.

Check out the trailer for The Last of Us below.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, franchise creator Neil Druckmann and showrunner Craig Mazin affirmed that The Last of Us won’t face the same issue as Game of Thrones. Druckmann explained, “We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games. We won’t run into the same issue as Game of Thrones since Part II doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.”

Mazin added, “I don’t have any interest in a spinning-plates-go-on-forever show. When it becomes a perpetual motion machine, it just can’t help but get kind of ... stupid. Endings mean everything to me.” It certainly sounds like the show will faithfully adapt Part II but then may draw to a close, for now. Druckmann has also teased the reveal of a Part III so should that game be released in the next few years, I’d imagine the show would also adapt that story.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Part III served as a finale for the video game series, but that’s just me speculating. I’d love to play The Last of Us forever, but I do believe a trilogy would best serve the story. In other words, chances are we’ll only see a handful of seasons of The Last of Us so enjoy it while you can.