The Last Of Us movie is in ‘development hell,’ says writer

By Rick Marshall April 5, 2016

the last of us movie stalled sam raimi thelastofus 0001 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Back in January, The Last Of Us game director Neil Druckmann offered an optimistic update on the status of the planned movie based on his popular, post-apocalyptic survival game when he reported that his script for the film was finished and the creative team had held table reads of the latest draft. Sadly, progress on the project seems to have taken a turn for the worse, according to Druckmann.

During a recent interview, the game director and movie screenwriter revealed that the big-screen adaptation of The Last Of Us has apparently lost momentum and entered the dreaded limbo state known as “development hell.”

“I know I said in an interview a while back we had a table read, got the script to a good place and it kind of entered development hell like these things tend to do,” Druckmann told IGN of the film’s current status. “There hasn’t been any work done on it in over a year and a half.”

The news will certainly come as a disappointment to fans who looked forward to a big-screen version of the story that made the 2013 release one of the most celebrated video games of all time.

The Last Of Us follows a pair of survivors — a gruff, battle-weary older man and a young, capable girl — on their journey through a world ravaged by an infectious disease that turns humans into terrifying creatures. The game’s premise was inspired by real-world diseases, and was critically acclaimed for the way it handled the themes of survival, loyalty, morality, and redemption over the course of the duo’s adventure.

Various reports have suggested that Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams was the leading contender to play Ellie, the young girl in the game, but it’s unknown whether the project’s current, stalled state will prompt her to move on from the film.

Along with penning the script for the film, Druckmann is attached as a producer on The Last Of Us movie along with the presidents of game studio Naughty Dog and filmmaker Sam Raimi, whose production company Ghost House Pictures is attached to develop the movie.

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