With HBO and PlayStation Production set to begin filming their television adaptation of the hit PlayStation video game The Last of Us in July, the series has added two additional directors.
According to Variety, directors Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi have both been tapped to helm episodes of The Last of Us while the previously announced Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) will direct the pilot. However, it is currently unclear how many episodes Žbanić, Abbasi and Balagov will direct respectively.
Bosnian filmmaker Žbanić’s latest feature, Quo Vadis, Aida?, has earned a nomination for best international feature film at the 93rd Academy Awards. While Abbasi has directed two well-received features, including the 2018 Cannes International Film Festival official selection, Border.
The Last of Us is “set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centres on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”
Craig Mazin, the creator of HBO’s acclaimed limited series Chernobyl, will pen the script and serve as executive producer on the TV adaptation alongside Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of the game. Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) have been cast as Joel and Ellie respectively with Gabriel Luna set to play Joel’s brother, Tommy.
