HBO just revealed its budget per episode of the upcoming series adaptation of The Last Of Us and fans see it as an optimistic sign ensuring quality. Aside from having Neil Druckmann on board as writer and director of the HBO series, The Direct shares that the budget promises high quality for a series.
The production wrapped filming in June 2022 and in a few days, it will arrive on HBO. Starring Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, the series may just have another thing in common with HBO’s Game of Thrones aside from its lead actors.
While there is truly a growing trend in developing series adaptations for videogames, there are just may be almost a handful that succeeded in living up to the reputation of original material. So far, the only live-action adaptation to reach the Top 5 ratings on Rotten Tomatoes is Netflix’s The Witcher (5th Place at 81%).
HBO Allots A Huge Budget for The Last Of Us
Credit: HBO Max
READ MORE: The Last Of Us HBO Series Wraps Production
In the report, the show actually budgeted more than $10M per episode. This confirms our article last July.
And if this is any sign of quality, the report compares the budget to several other popular series. The most indicative of which is Season 5 of Game of Thrones.
Should viewers further compare, the budget is also within the same range as the ones for The Witcher and Halo.
Of course, the production details of the series are highly different. The upcoming series has a dystopian, post-apocalyptic environment, while the others are more fantasy and sci-fi-based
Definitely, there will be differences in cost but the production overall will utilize similar talent and skill behind the scene. And that is all the way up to post-production.
The most assuring advantage of the series, other than the faces viewers will see on screen, is what is behind it. The fact that the source material’s creative director, Neil Druckmann, is on board says a lot about how they handled the series.
On top of this, Chernobyl creator, Craig Mazin, joins Druckmann as the series creator. If that is not assurance enough, we don’t know what is.
Of course, there is the budget.
Huge Budget for HBO’s The Last Of Us Makes Fans Hopeful
Credit: HBO Max
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Despite the influx of live-action adaptations of video games, whether for television or theatres, fans are always ready for a letdown. Somehow, previous productions miss capturing the feel of the original game.
The same cannot be said for the animated adaptations, though. Those versions are quite thriving and you only need to look at the top rating of Rotten Tomatoes to compare animated from live action.
Dare we say that it was only when The Witcher series starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia came that these video game adaptations began actually to get good. The series is about to release its third season later this year.
In terms of performance, Druckmann himself attested to Pascal and Ramsey’s portrayal of the lead characters. Last year he said:
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and not only directing them but seeing them do all the other episodes, they have thrown themselves at these roles for a whole year. Watching the nuance they bring to these characters, their relationship on and off camera, I couldn’t help but think about [game actors] Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson. It felt so similar to the chemistry those two actors had when we made the game
For someone who has been with the IP since the beginning, this is very good news indeed.
But what do you think of the upcoming series? Are you a fan of the original video game as well? Do you think HBO will end up making a genuinely good video game adaptation with the upcoming series? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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