The new trailer for "The Last of Us" looks damn good

To mark the start of the Brazilian Comic-Con, HBO has released a new trailer for "The Last of Us". The two-minute video features many familiar faces, locations and mushroom zombies.

The new images suggest that we are dealing with a very faithful implementation. Hardcore fans can also look forward to a few surprises and guest appearances by the actors from the games.

True to the original with familiar locations

In the trailer, there are many scenes that look confusingly similar to the game. The macabre beauty of the post-apocalyptic world has been transferred to the series with great attention to detail. Destroyed skyscrapers, extinct streets and overgrown cars - as an old "The Last of Us" fan, I immediately feel at home.

But not only the locations, but also the disgusting mushroom zombies have been faithfully adapted. In the new trailer, one of the more dangerous enemy types can be seen for the first time. The massive "bloaters" still haunt my nightmares and will certainly provide disgust and horror in the series as well.

Expanded story and new characters

In terms of content, the ten episodes of the first season will be very close to the plot of the first game. The first "The Last of Us" game tells the story of 14-year-old Ellie, who is immune to the Cordyceps virus. The smuggler Joel is supposed to hand over the little girl to the rebel group "Fireflies" so that they can develop a vaccine against the deadly fungal virus.

Despite this, "The Last of Us" followers can expect some surprises. According to the series' producer, Craig Mazin, there will be some moments that will blow away fans of the original. The trailer does not spoil these moments, but hints at some changes from the original and additional storylines.

So there are some scenes in the trailer in an abandoned department stores'. This was the main setting in the story DLC for the first game. The expansion "The Last of Us: Left Behind" takes place a few weeks before the events of the game and shows Ellie being bitten by a mushroom zombie. I'm curious to see how the series brings the two storylines together.

But the series seems to go even further into the past with the flashbacks. In one short clip, Ellie's birth is even shown. Her backstory is only vaguely hinted at in the game. Especially cool for fans: Ellie's mother is played by Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie in the games.

Troy Baker, who plays Joel in the Games, also gets a guest appearance. He is part of a cannibal gang that captures Ellie in the course of the story.

Also more backstory is given to Joel's lonely business partner Bill. In the game, the mad inventor lives isolated from the outside world. In the series, we learn how Bill became a crazed loner and how his partner Frank passed away.

The plot of the game is told with several big time jumps. Neil Druckmann, the director of the two Playstation games, has already hinted that these time jumps will be given more attention in the series.

In the trailer, two completely new characters can be seen appearing in one of these time jumps. They warn Ellie and Joel about the path they have taken and advise them to turn around immediately.

I have already summarised other characters from the series in an earlier article and compared them with the original material:

The best game adaptation ever?

My expectations for "The Last of Us" series are very high. After the trailer, they have risen immeasurably. The settings, characters and zombies have been adapted with great attention to detail and the people responsible behind the project also make me feel positive.

The adaptation is written and produced by "Chernobyl" showrunner Craig Mazin and the games' director Neil Druckmann. Directors include Jeremy Webb ("The Umbrella Academy"), Ali Abbasi, Kantemir Balagov and Neil Druckmann.

The series will air on Sky Show from 16 January. Between now and then, I'll very likely be playing through The Last of Us Part I and The Last of Us Part II again. I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of that post-apocalyptic world.