The Last of Us HBO series is coming and Neil Druckmann is co-writing it with Chernobyl's creator

(Image credit: Sony)

A The Last of Us HBO series is coming, and it's being co-written and produced by the creative director of the game.

HBO revealed the series on its official Twitter account and The Hollywood Reporter followed up with details. It's based on the events of the original game, and it's also being helmed by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Though it's not confirmed yet, The Last of Us HBO series may also feature details and stories pulled from The Last of Us 2, which is coming in May.

"From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us," Druckmann said in a statement to THR. "With Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn't think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show."

The Last of Us HBO series will also be overseen by PlayStation Productions, the new gaming-focused entertainment branch that's currently working on the Uncharted movie that Sony created to adapt its video game properties for the (non-interactive) screen. Sony Pictures Television Studios co-president Chris Parnell confirmed that this is "the first of many shows we intend to develop with our friends at PlayStation Productions."

"Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus," Mazin said in his own statement. "Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I'm so honored to do it in partnership with Neil."

There's no word on when The Last of Us HBO series is planned to enter production or begin airing, but we'll keep you updated with any more developments as soon as they surface.

See what else to look forward to in our guide the best new TV shows coming in 2020 and beyond.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.

Latest in Action Shows
The Punisher holding two machine guns in the rain
Daredevil: Born Again - Learn the bullet-riddled comic book history of the Punisher before he officially joins the MCU
Daredevil: Born Again
Vincent D'Onofrio responds to a fan who thinks Daredevil: Born Again has "ruined" Kingpin: "Thanks for the support dumbass"
John Bernthal The Punisher
Jon Bernthal teases upcoming "dark" Punisher special: "It's the version that this character deserves"
Daredevil: Born Again
Elden Henson jokes that what happened to Foggy in Daredevil: Born Again went down because he ran over Kevin Feige's foot with his car
Daredevil recap: The Defenders
Marvel fans are discussing which of the Netflix series characters would have survived the Blip
Daredevil: Born Again
Daredevil: Born Again killing off a fan-favorite character is controversial, but it might prove to be the right choice for the new Marvel show
Latest in News
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
5 years after starting development, Neil Druckmann says Naughty Dog's new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "still evolving and changing as we're making it"
Silent Hill f
After 2 years of silence, the next mainline Silent Hill game is getting a dedicated stream this week with "the latest news"
Original Xbox console
Former Microsoft exec says the first Xbox was killed early in favor of 360 because it was "losing money left right and center," but luckily "we could afford to hemorrhage cash"
A Monster Hunter Wilds character holding binoculars.
Despite Monster Hunter Wilds suffering monstrous performance problems on PC, it still outsold the PS5 and Xbox Series X versions in the US
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
A screenshot of Jordan drinking a soda during the reveal trailer for Intergalactic: The Hertic Prophet.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is "a game about faith and religion," which Neil Druckmann jokes will surely get less hate than The Last of Us 2