The Last Of Us is one of those games we’ve repeatedly praised for its great writing, but could it really translate into a live-action feature film? Screen Gems and Sam Raimi think so. Neil Druckmann — Creative Director for The Last Of Us — will write the script for Sam Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, and Screen Gems will distribute.
Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper cited “the quality of the storytelling” as their reason for picking up the project. Fair enough. The Last Of Us won a Writers Guild of America award for “Outstanding Achievement in Writing for Video Games”, among numerous other awards and nominations last year.
If you’re wondering if the movie will follow Joel and Ellie’s storyline, Riley and Ellie’s storyline, or both, the press release definitely shows a preference:
The rich and visceral story of The Last of Us […] follows hardened survivor, Joel, and Ellie, a young and capable girl, on their journey through a radically transformed world. Set twenty years after an infectious pandemic spread by the cordyceps virus [Ed.- NO, IT’S A FUNGUS, NOT A VIRUS, DAMN IT. YOU SHOULD KNOW THIS, OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE WRITER.] ravaged the course of humanity, these two people, who were brought together by chance, must make life-altering decisions in order to survive. The Last of Us explores themes of survival, loyalty, love, and redemption in an emotionally charged expedition across a post-epidemic United States.
Man, that press release f**king loves commas. But not facts. GRRR, IT’S A FUNGUS.
So it sounds like The Last of Us: The Movie will focus on Joel and Ellie. Since it’s Hollywood, they’ll probably completely miss the point and age up the character to make her into Joel’s love interest, just so they can cast Ellen Page. Or maybe they could keep Ellie the same age and the entire movie can be about her finally learning how to swim.