‘Last of Us’ Series at HBO Taps Jasmila Zbanic, Ali Abbasi to Direct
“The Last of Us” series adaptation at HBO has found its directors in Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi.
Žbanić’s latest film, “Quo vadis, Aida” was nominated for the Oscar for best international film feature. The film won the Film Independent Spirit Award for best international film on Thursday. Abbasi won the Cannes Film Festival’s Un Certain Regard Award for directing in 2018 for his film “Border,” also known as “Gräns.”
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Žbanić is repped by CAA and Good Chaos. Abbasi is repped by CAA, Management 360 and Independent Talent Group.
It was previously announced that Pedro Pascal will star as Joel in the series, alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Gabriel Luna as Tommy.
“The Last of Us” series was first announced as being in development at the premium cabler last March, with the show landing a formal series order in November. Based on the video game of the same name, the series takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
“Chernobyl” creator Craig Mazin is attached to write and executive produce the series along with Neil Druckmann, a writer and creative director for “The Last of Us” video game. Carolyn Strauss and Rose Lam will also executive produce along with Evan Wells, president of game development studio Naughty Dog. PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan will also executive produce. Kantemir Balagov is set to direct the pilot. The project is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog produce.
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