HBO Reveals Set Photos for Upcoming “The Last of Us” TV Series

HBO Reveals Set Photos for Upcoming “The Last of Us” TV Series

*Game storyline spoilers below*

HBO’s upcoming TV show The Last of Us has finally commenced filming. On August 4, new set photos were released by HBO depicting a war-torn city ravaged by a zombie apocalypse.

Calgary, Canada, is the official set for the TV adaptation of Naughty Dog’s award-winning game. Production has been taking place for several weeks now, although the creative team, including Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, have kept most details under wraps. The set photos are one of the first glimpses we have behind the scenes of the highly anticipated series. Though it is yet to be confirmed, fans speculate that the new set photos look to be the Boston quarantine zone in which the first leg of the story takes place.

Photos of the HBO's 'The Last of Us' set being built in Calgary.

(via CTV News) pic.twitter.com/m5HWqD38Jv

— The Last of Us Updates (@TheLastofUsNews) August 4, 2021

Set 20 years after the outbreak of a deadly fungal virus, Boston is where the story’s main protagonist, Joel Miller (played by Pedro Pascal), finds himself after fleeing his hometown of Austin, Texas. This is where the story takes off and Joel’s life is forever changed when he is hired by a resistance group known as the Fireflies to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (played by Pascal’s fellow Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey), to a rebel-controlled safe house. Ellie’s safety is of the utmost importance, as she is the only known human to have been bitten by an infected and not fallen victim to the fatal Cordyceps virus. What should have been a fairly straightforward job for the experienced smuggler is soon revealed to be a violent and perilous cross-country journey that requires Ellie and Joel to rely on each other for survival.

The only other peek into filming so far was a picture shared by Gabriel Luna (playing Joel’s brother Tommy) depicting Luna, Pascal, and actress Nico Parker, who plays Joel’s daughter Sarah, sitting in a car. Although they are all smiles in the photo, and Luna captioned it “Already love these folks. #MillerTime #thelastofus”, fans guess that this is a sneak peek into the tragic opening scene of the video game on “outbreak day”, when life as they knew it would change forever.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ1B531rynI/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=f3f55036-b79e-4f25-88aa-43405dea73cb

The Hollywood Reporter revealed in March 2020 that the series will “cover the events of the original game…with the possibility of additional content based on the forthcoming game sequel [The Last of Us 2].” The series has been described by directors and co-creator Craig Mazin as “enhanced”, meaning it will be a more in-depth version of the game’s story. Mazin told the BBC, “In this case, I’m doing it with [Neil Druckmann], and so the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.”

A release date has not been announced, but since production is just beginning, many estimate that it will be at least June 2022 before we can expect to see this heart-wrenching and the action-packed game brought to life.