Horror fans know this old saying only too well: Hurry up and wait.
The highly anticipated HBO adaptation of Naughty Dog’s award-winning The Last of Us video game is currently in production, but it’s not going to land on the small screen this year, according to a report in Deadline.
The 10-episode first season–from Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann–“is not going to air in 2022,” said HBO chief content officer Casey Bloys. “They are still shooting in Canada. I imagine you will see it in 2023.”
But Bloys was very optimistic about what he has seen of the series so far. “I have seen some early episodes,” he said, “and I’m very excited. Craig did Chernobyl for us. He is a fantastic writer and director. What I’ve seen looks amazing, so I’m excited for it, but it will not be in 2022.”
The Last of Us, according to the official synopsis, takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly virus. Hardened survivor Joel (Pedro Pascal) is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a cure-searching organization.
What starts out as a routine job becomes a “brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”
The rest of the cast includes Anna Torv, Merle Dandridge, Storm Reid, Nick Offerman, Nico Parker, Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Pierce, Con O’Neil and Murray Bartlett.
Kantemir Balagov will direct the pilot, with Jasmila Zbanic and Ali Abbasi helming other episodes.
Keep reading Horror News Network for the latest on HBO’s The Last of Us.
