Neil Druckmann Revealed That Sam Raimi’s ‘The Last of Us’ Adaptation Failed Because the Executives Wanted Everything to Be More ‘Bigger & S*xier’

The world of video game movie adaptations has a very bad reputation. Many important factors that define a particular title, get lost in the transition to the big screen. The record is so unimpressive that some even believe the curse of terrible video game movie adaptations will never break. Neil Druckmann, the creator of the highly acclaimed gaming series The Last of Us, shares what happens behind the scenes. 

Drukmann’s masterpiece is getting its own adaptation by HBO but in the form of a television series instead of a movie. But before HBO had taken the right for the project, there was also a movie adaption of the game that never got to see the light. This project was led by Sam Raimi. 

The Last of Us movie adaptation gets scrapped

Back in 2014, Screen Gems secured the right for a movie adaptation of the famed Sony Exclusive gaming series. This production house was known for its other gaming movie adaptation, ‘Resident Evil’. Despite being commercially successful, the movies were reviled by critics. 

Read More: “Well, I’m Out”–The Last of Us Fans Stand Divided After the Game’s Creator Reveals About the HBO Adaptation Having Scaled Down Violence

According to Neil, the executive’s vision for the adaption wasn’t in the same boat as the director’s, nor the source material. Where Raimi had the aesthetic vision of “No Country for Old Men”, the executives wanted to make another ‘World War z”. This difference in views eventually resulted in the movie never getting out of the development hell. 

How did HBO’s adaption of TLoU become a reality?

After Screen Gems relinquished the adaptation, Carter Swan, the executive in charge of I.P. expansion at PlayStation, tried to entice Neil to find a perfect team to create an adaptation that is satisfactory in his eyes. But Neil constantly declined the proposals, as according to him, a movie adaptation seemed illogical for the franchise. 

But when Swan informed Druckmann that Craig Mazin may be interested in the project, Neil quickly sought to make an appointment. The ‘Chernobyl’ guy aka Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann quickly bonded over their love for each other’s works and video games, which finally led to the development of HBO’s upcoming series. 

What do you think about the new HBO’s The Last of Us? Do you think it will be able to break the curse? Let us know in the comments below.

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