The upcoming HBO series adaptation of “The Last of Us” just got a whole lot bleaker. “Beanpole” director Kantemir Balagov has reportedly been tapped to direct the pilot for the upcoming adaptation of the popular post-apocalyptical adventure game.
The Hollywood Reporter has the scoop on “The Last of Us,” reporting that the Russian filmmaker behind the award-winning Cannes darling, “Beanpole,” will be replacing “Chernobyl” director, Johan Renck, who had to drop out of the show due to scheduling conflicts. “Chernobyl” creator, Craig Mazin, will be writing the show and executive producing alongside the game’s creative director, Neil Druckmann.
If there was any doubt that the TV adaptation would capture the bleak and dark tone of the original video game, hiring Balagov should put those worries to rest. “Beanpole” in particular tells a dark and twisty story of the relationship between two women in the aftermath of the Siege of Leningrad during WWII, and Balagov’s slow and somber approach to drama perfectly fits the tone of “The Last of Us.”
“The Last of Us” is set 20 years after civilization collapsed due to a virus taking over the world, and it centers on the relationship between a grizzled, no-nonsense smuggler named Joel, and Ellie, a teenager who may hold the key to a vaccine. As Joel is hired to smuggle Ellie out of a closed down city and across the U.S., the two embark on an incredibly brutal and bleak journey that looks at the darkest parts of humanity. And there’s also zombies and action and stuff.
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Back in July of last year, Mazin teased that the HBO adaptation will “expand” the story of the games, likely adapting the second game in the future. “I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licensed to someone else, those people don’t really understand it, or are going to change it,” the filmmaker said. “In this case, I’m doing it with the guy who did it, and so the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.”