On a very different mission to protect a slightly less cuddly child, “The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal is a hardened survivor in the intense first look at HBO’s upcoming series “The Last of Us.”
Based on Naughty Dog’s hugely popular video games series of the same name, “The Last of Us” could be the rare adaptation to do the source material justice, with the game’s mastermind Neil Druckmann and Emmy-winning “Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin at the helm.
Set 20 years after the world has been ravaged by a fungal pandemic that turns infected people into zombielike creatures, the series follows the wearied Joel (Pascal), who is hired to smuggle Ellie (“Game of Thrones” alum Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl who might hold the key to finding a cure, out of an oppressive quarantine zone.
“What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival,” the official synopsis says.
The trailer offers glimpses of how the series faithfully renders the post-apocalyptic world from the video game, including collapsed skyscrapers, desolate stretches of wilderness and infested wastelands, all set to singer Hank Williams’ somber “Alone and Forsaken.”
In the clip, Joel and Ellie face a slew of threats, including clickers, a terrifying breed of “the infected” who have been heavily mutated by the virus that has spread all over their bodies.
Other recognizable figures from the game appear in the trailer, including Joel’s smuggling partner Tess (“Fringe” star Anna Torv) and Marlene, the leader of the resistance movement known as the Fireflies, played by Merle Dandridge, who also lent her voice to the character.
Fresh off her Emmy-nominated turn in Showtime’s “Yellowjackets,” Melanie Lynskey stars in the series as the “ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
Gabriel Luna, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett and Nick Offerman also star alongside Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, who voiced Ellie and Joel in the original game.
“The Last of Us” arrives on HBO in 2023. Watch the trailer below:
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