Zombie Research Society
Sam Raimi (director of The Evil Dead, Spiderman1,2,3) announced at the San Diego Comic-Con 2014 that he will be producing a screen adaptation of the hit video game The Last of Us, from developer Naughty Dog.
The script will be penned by Naughty Dog’s creative director Neil Druckman. Although there are many great cinematics in The Last of Us, it remains to be seen if Druckman can make the transition to the big screen, but fingers are crossed.
At the announcement, talk turned to who some of the actors are that are being considered to fill the roles of Ellie and Joel.
One of the favorites being tossed around is Maissie Williams, who currently plays Arya Stark on Game of Thrones. In fact Raimi indicated she is being actively pursued for the role. If she does land the role, it’ll be interesting to see how the 17 year old handles an American accent. She definitely has the acting chops, and we’re used to seeing her wandering around in a dangerous wilderness with a gruff older man (ala The Hound in GOT). Ellen Page was also suggested as an obvious choice because of her resemblance to the character of Ellie (Naughty Dog even went so far as to alter the image of the 3D character when the game was being developed) but Ellen is now 27, and likely too old for the role. Beside, she’s still pretty pissed that her likeness was used by Naughty Dog without her permission in the first place.
The role of Joel seems to be more uncertain. Some of the names bandied about have been Hugh Jackman, Josh Brolin, and Gerard Butler. All good choices in my opinion. The real question is whether or not these A-Listers will want to take on the role of a video game character, what with the dismal track record of most video games-turned-movies as of late.
The game is awesome, that’s a fact. It’ll be interesting to follow this project as it develops.
GAME/MOVIE PLOT
Joel, a single father, must travel across a post-apocalyptic United States in 2033 to protect a young girl named Ellie. He must deliver her to a resistance group called the Fireflies, who believe she may be vital to curing the zombie-like infection (caused by a mutation of the Cordyceps fungus) that has destroyed civilization.
Here is the entire Comic-Con announcement and Panel Discussion of “The Last of Us” movie by Sam Raimi and Neil Druckman: