HBO's small-screen adaptation of The Last of Us may release sooner than expected, according to Gabriel Luna, the actor playing Tommy Miller in the first season of the upcoming series.
While The Last of Us is one of the most highly anticipated video game adaptations of all time, the series has yet to receive an official release window from HBO. The network previously stated that the series is expected to launch sometime in 2022, but based on a hint from Luna, it may arrive earlier in the year than previously believed. Luna, who will portray the brother of protagonist Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), touched on the series' release date in an interview with ComicBook.com, teasing, "I'm not in the scheduling department, but it'd be sooner than later."
Luna, who is widely known for portraying Robbie Reyes/Ghost Rider on Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., has repeatedly expressed his excitement for his part in the series. When The Last of Us entered production earlier this year, Luna celebrated with a behind-the-scenes photo of him and his costars. Luna continued to share his enthusiasm for the project in the interview, stating he looks forward to the day when the series finally launches. "[I'm] so excited to complete my work there on Season 1, and then we're going to have a really fun adventure there," Luna said. "I look forward to everyone having an opportunity to check that out whenever it may come out."
The Last of Us entered production in July of 2021 and is expected to continue through June 2022. The 10-episode first season was written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin alongside Neil Druckmann, who wrote the original 2013 game and its sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Luna and Pascal will star alongside Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones), who said portraying The Last of Us' Ellie will be "the biggest thing" of her career thus far. Luna shared in the enthusiasm as an actor and a fan. "I really enjoy it and had the time to play both of those games, and they're just beautiful, beautiful works of art, and to step into it has been really exciting," Luna said.
While past film and TV adaptations of video games have varied in loyalty to their source material, details from The Last of Us' production indicate the series will remain faithful to the original 2013 title. Photos from the set have provided glimpses at surprisingly game-accurate locales, and a recent photo of Pascal in costume as Joel proved the actor looks to be an excellent fit to play the grizzled survivor.
Developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 3, The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic survival horror game set in a world ravaged by a plague that mutates humans into zombie-like creatures. Players spend the bulk of the game as Joel, a hardened survivor who must protect Ellie, a young girl immune to the infection who could be the key to finding a cure. The title is one of the best-reviewed and best-selling games of all time.
Source: ComicBook.com