HBO’sThe Last of Usseries might end up having to adapt source material that doesn’t exist yet, which didn’t go so well whenGame of Thronestried it a few years ago.The Last of UsTV show has proven to be so popular that HBO will want to keep it going for as long as it can, with as many seasons as possible, which could mean that the TV show will have to tackle story material fromThe Last of Us Part IIIbefore the game has even been released. When David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, and their writing staff had to adapt unpublished George R.R. Martin books for the screen,Game of Thrones’ reputation went from one of the most acclaimed and popular TV shows ever made to one of the biggest disappointments in TV history.
While the firstLast of Usgame fit neatly into the first season of the TV show, turning the second game into television will be a much bigger challenge. The epic narrative ofThe Last of Us Part IIprovides Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann with a ton of material to work with. They might be able to stretch the second game to two or maybe even three seasons of the TV show. But HBO will undoubtedly want to keep its latest critical and commercial hit going afterEllie’s quest for revenge against Abbycomes to a head at the Rattlers’ compound.
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Once they’ve finished turning the mega-scale story ofThe Last of Us Part IIinto a couple of seasons of the TV show, HBO will want to know what’s next. Druckmann probably has some ideas worked out for where the story ofThe Last of Us Part IIIwill go, but the game is nowhere near being finished. Rather than cherry-picking the essential parts of a complete, polished game, Mazin and Druckmann will have to flesh out a rough story outline, much like Benioff and Weiss did with Martin’s outlines for the last couple ofA Song of Ice and Firebooks.
Game Of Thrones Adapted Rough Outlines Of Unfinished Novels For Its Final Seasons
The final seasons ofGame of Throneswere adapted from Martin’s rough story outlines forThe Winds of WinterandA Dream of Spring, which remain unfinished and unpublished to this day. When the TV series caught up with all of Martin’s published material, HBO was determined to keep its biggest hit show going into uncharted narrative territory. WhattheGame of Throneswriting teamexcelled at in the early seasons was paring down a huge, epic tome to its essential elements for a thrilling season of television. Where they stumbled was trying to stretch a bare-bones list of plot beats into a larger, all-encompassing narrative.
Now thatThe Last of Usis established as HBO’s next blockbuster show, the network will want to keep it going for as long as possible, just like it did withGame of Thrones. But there’s only one more game for the team to adapt. Naughty Dog hasall but confirmed a thirdLast of Usgame, and the franchise is getting spun off into other stories and gaming experiences, but there’s been no official announcement ofThe Last of Us Part III, which means it’s not even in production yet. Even if there is story material to mine beyond the events ofThe Last of Us Part II, it’s still in the early days of development.
The Last Of Us TV Show Might Adapt The Third Game Before It Exists
There are no confirmed plot details forThe Last of Us Part III, but there were a lot of loose ends left at the end ofThe Last of Us Part II. Abby and Lev sailed awayto find the Fireflies in Santa Barbara, so the next story could explore what happens when they get there. Ellie might return to Jackson and try to reconcile with Dina and J.J., or she could go off on her own adventures as a lone wolf and meet a whole new group of characters. The possibilities are endless.
The fact that Druckmann is heavily involved in both the game series and the TV series, and he only has so many hours in a day, means that, ironically, he’ll be too busy working on subsequent seasons of the TV show to work onThe Last of Us Part III. It’s as ifGeorge R.R. Martin himselfwas one of the showrunners ofGame of Thrones. Fortunately, that might helpThe Last of Usseries avoid the pitfalls ofGame of Thrones. Whereas the showrunners ofGame of Throneswere simply fans of the source material, the co-showrunner ofThe Last of Usis the creator of the franchise. The final seasons ofGame of Throneswere written by people telling Martin’s story, but future seasons ofThe Last of Uswill be spearheaded by Druckmann telling his own story.
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