Chernobyl Director to Direct The Last of Us Series First Episode

In an interview with Discussing Film, Johan Renck, the director of Chernobyl, has disclosed that he is an executive producer for The Last of Us TV series. Renck also shared that he will be directing the pilot episode of the series. The creator of Chernobyl, Craig Mazin, is also serving as executive producer and writer alongside Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann.

Renck spoke about the differences between adapting characters from a book and a video game. He shared, “That’s a very pertinent question on a lot of levels. You have for instance The Last of Us with Craig, in which you have a video game character who’s very much top of mind with anybody who’s ever played that game. More than that, they know exactly what he looks like, how he talks, how he acts, and so on and so forth.”

The Last of Us HBO series might just be the most anticipated show in the works due to its potential, large audience, and capacity for the type of hard-hitting drama that HBO has mastered. Not only that, the adaptation of the Naughty Dog classic is not only bringing on one of the minds behind Joel and Ellie’s original game adventure, but the writer of one of the most critically-acclaimed HBO series in recent years.

Renck also discussed how Mazin and he are approaching the characters in the show. He acknowledges that due to Joel and Ellie being such iconic characters in pop culture, people have an expectation of how they will be portrayed on screen. Renck says that Mazin and he have been having weekly calls with Druckmann. Together, they are figuring out ways to adapt the characters, as Renck believes it is harder to adapt a video game character than a character from a book, who only lives in the minds of readers. For The Last Of Us, people have a very specific idea of how Joel and Ellie look, sound and act.

The Last of Us HBO series might just be the most anticipated show in the works due to its potential, large audience, and capacity for the type of hard-hitting drama that HBO has mastered. Not only that, the adaptation of the Naughty Dog classic is not only bringing on one of the minds behind Joel and Ellie’s original game adventure, but the writer of one of the most critically-acclaimed HBO series in recent years.

Hasta La Motion!