There were plenty of things for fans of The Last of Us video game to be thrilled to see when the latest trailer for the upcoming HBO series hit online Saturday (December 3).
The Last of Us follows a smuggler named Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal), who is tasked to safely escort a 14-year-old girl named Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey) out of a quarantined area and through an infection zone filled with humans infected by a mutating virus.
And if fans were hoping the show would be shot to look like the 2013 PlayStation video game, the new trailer should make them happy. So far, there are plenty of scenes that mirror the game’s appearance shot for shot. So much so, compilations have already started dropping comparing the game to the show, scene by scene.
Some of the scenes shown in the trailer were instantly recognizable for many; Ellie walking across a plank to the top of a building; Tommy (Gabriel Luna) driving through a neighborhood where a house is on fire; and another scene of Ellie and her friend Riley (Storm Reid) that is taken straight from the DLC prequel The Last of Us: Left Behind.
Fans even got to see the dreaded bloaters come to life and relive some of the most important moments of Joel on that horse.
Even the conversations hit similar beats.
At the beginning of the trailer, Ellie asks Joel that if he doesn’t “think there is hope in the world, why bother going on?” Joel responds: “You haven’t seen the world, so you don’t know.” Later, he refers to her as “cargo” when she reminds him that she’s not part of his family. And it truly feesl reminiscent of the time Joel and Ellie spent in that car. The trailer also incorporates the 1985 song “Take on Me” from the band A-ha, which was used in The Last of Us Part II by an older version of Ellie.
Fans are also excited that actress Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie’s character in the video game series, looks to be playing Ellie’s mother in the live-action version. A shot of her holding a newborn (what we assume is) Ellie is seen in the trailer.
Actor Troy Baker, who played Joel in the video game, can also be seen briefly with a gang of men who are up to no good. Hint: he’s the one on the far left.
The Last of Us premieres on January 15, 2023 on HBO Max.