The Last of Us Movie That Almost Was: Why It Became an HBO Show

Before HBO's hit series, The Last of Us was almost a movie. Here's why that version would have been 'awful' and how it transformed into the show we love.

Remember when The Last of Us was supposed to be a movie? If you're new to this saga, buckle up—because the journey from PlayStation classic to HBO phenomenon is wilder than a Clicker ambush.

Back in 2014, Sony Pictures proudly declared the game was "soon to be a major motion picture." There was even official key art of Ellie wielding a knife, and a Comic-Con panel with Sam Raimi attached to produce. Neil Druckmann, the game's director, was on board, promising a film that would "take into account the unique properties of film." But as we now know, that movie never happened—and honestly, it's a blessing in disguise.

The project quickly fell into what Hollywood calls "development hell." By 2016, Druckmann admitted the movie hadn't progressed in over a year. There was no director, no cast, no release date. Rumors swirled about Maisie Williams playing Ellie (she even met with Druckmann and Raimi), and Kaitlyn Dever was also considered—she'd later show up as Abby in the HBO series. But the script went through drafts with "pretty big changes," and the studio had notes that clashed with what made the game special.

Druckmann revealed that movie execs wanted him to "make it bigger, make it more like World War Z." He pushed back: "Go make World War Z. Why make The Last of Us? The Last of Us is not that." Contrast that with HBO's Casey Bloys, who said, "Do as much action as you need to, and no more. Do as much violence as you need to, and no more. Here, we sell drama." That creative freedom made all the difference.

Looking back, Druckmann is candid: the movie "would have been awful." He told Logically Speaking in 2024 that it would've been "one of those bad adaptations." With only two hours to cram in the story, he realized a direct adaptation wouldn't work. "We have told that story well, cinematically," he said, and he didn't want to retell it in a lesser form.

Instead, HBO gave the story room to breathe. The series premiered in January 2023 and became a massive hit, even with its creative departures. Druckmann praised HBO's "reverence and artistry," and the show's success proves that sometimes the best adaptation is the one that never gets made—at least not in the way we expected.

So, what do you think? Would you have wanted to see a Last of Us movie, or are you glad it became a series? Let us know in the comments!