When was the last time you were well and truly excited about a live-action video game adaptation? One where you were itching to see it and shaking with anticipation? It likely has been a while. Some of you might have felt that way about Sonic the Hedgehog 2 earlier this year. But that was just as much an animated film as a live-action movie. So in terms of a pure live-action fare, it’s been a minute since we’ve had a great showcase with a lot of hype built around it. But one that will undoubtedly break that mold is The Last of Us on HBO.
The show based on the hit game from Naughty Dog had many people nervous when it was first announced. After all, we’ve been down this road before. A popular franchise gets promoted for a live-action adaptation, they bring in a trendy actor to headline it, and then the results are as mid as possible, if not just outright trash. But with this new HBO series, there is hope.
That leads us to the release date leak that happened. Because some people were snooping around the HBO app, and when they looked up the show, they found this:
“A preview of the post-apocalyptic drama series based on the critically acclaimed video game. Premieres Jan. 15.”
HBO had yet to confirm a release date up to that point, and all they noted in the teaser trailer was that it would arrive in 2023. If this release date is to be believed, we might not have to wait too long to see Joel and Ellie in live-action. However, HBO hasn’t come forward and officially said this is the release date. The leak was from the HBO app, and that date could have been a mistake. Plus, it can be pushed back if they feel a different date suits them better. It just depends on what HBO wants to do.
You might be wondering about a previous statement we made about how The Last of Us is a series we can be hopeful about in terms of quality. The reason for that is simple when it comes right down to it, HBO does quality programming. You can make jokes about the Game of Thrones final season all you want, but you know that when that fantasy epic was going strong, it was the best thing on TV. Plus, they’ve had numerous other hit shows that delve into various genres. So they’ll put everything they have into a series to have another hit.
Plus, Naughty Dog has been working with them to ensure that the show is as close to the game as possible in certain ways. So, hopefully, we’ll get another trailer soon to showcase the quality further, and get the official release date.
Source: ComicBook.com
