The episodic nature and interactive features of video games do not translate easily to the finite and linear structure of film. Just look at the various adaptations over the years that failed to capture the magic of the game: "Super Mario," "Street Fighter" and "Tomb Raider" just to name a few.
But Neil Druckmann, the creative director of the original The Last of Us video game, is working on adapting the zombie/action/drama and he is trying to write a successful film, even if that means extensive changes.
"In two hours you can't tell the same kind of story that you can in a game like The Last of Us, which is 15 hours," Druckmann told trade magazine MCV.
There are many sequences in the film, both actions scenes and character moments, that take place as the main characters Joel and Ellie travel across the U.S.
Druckmann stated, "There's so much that happens in The Last of Us -- even just in the cinematics -- that can't fit in a film, let alone all the gameplay in-between and dialogue."
The game does have standalone sections consisting of meeting particular characters or traveling through certain locations and trying to survive the infected there or even fighting back against human bandits. These would likely need to be removed to make it fit into a two or two-and-a-half hour film.
"What is this story really about?" said Druckmann. "It's clearly about Joel and Ellie. What are the most important beats that we can't lose? Start with those, and cut everything else out."
At San Diego Comic Con in June it was announced that the film would be produced by Sam Raimi, the director of "The Evil Dead" and the first "Spider-Man" movie trilogy. It was also revealed that Maisie Williams, who plays Arya on the "Game of Thrones" series, was in talks to play Ellie. No word yet on which actor would likely play Joel, though Josh Brolin and Hugh Jackman seem to be fan favorites.
Whomever steps in to portray the pair at the center of The Last of Us, their story will be quite different. "What I'm starting to get is this really focused narrative that's about these two characters. Some parts will be similar to the game and some parts will be quite different, but it's kind of interesting in helping me understand this other medium and its strengths compared to video games."
The Last of Us game was published by Sony on PlayStation 3 last year. A remastered edition with enhanced graphics was released last month for PlayStation 4. The production or release schedule for "The Last of Us" film has not been announced.
