It looks like HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us will be relying more heavily on its video game origins than we originally thought. According to a new, updated production list from the Director’s Guild of Canada, Neil Druckmann — who served as writer and creative director on the original 2013 game — is listed as one of five directors for the upcoming series, currently shooting in Calgary.
Druckmann is listed with four other directors for the series, including co-writer and showrunner Craig Mazin, and Kantemir Balagov, who has already been confirmed to direct the show’s pilot, Peter Hoar and Jasmila Žbanić. Druckmann is already serving as co-writer and executive producer on the series, but now it looks like he’ll be wearing three hats over the course of the series, lending his creative vision to work behind the camera as well.
It’s unclear whether Druckmann will direct a single episode or multiple, as the production list is not a complete breakdown, but having the person responsible for leading development on the PlayStation hit behind the camera is huge news for the series. With Druckmann serving as both writer and director, long-time fans of The Last of Us can certainly look forward to an adaptation that remains true to the spirit of the games that they fell in love with.
However, the DGC breakdown also confirms that production on the series is set to finish on June 8, 2022, meaning that, with no concrete release date, we have quite a long while to go before we see Joel and Ellie on our TV screens — played by Games of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Also joining the cast are Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Pierce, Anna Torv, and Merle Dandridge, reprising her role as Marlene, whom she voiced in the original game.