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Ali Abbasi, The Last of Us HBO directors Ellie, Joel, directors, HBO, show, Jasmila Žbanić

The Last of Us HBO Show Gains Two More Acclaimed Directors

HBO’s The Last of Us show has picked up two more directors to add to its lineup. Ali Abbasi (Border, Shelley) and Oscar nominee Jasmila Žbanić (Quo vadis, Aida?) are the latest newcomers to join the game-to-movie adaptation. Žbanić and Abbasi accompany Beanpole director Kantemir Balagov, who has been tapped to direct the show’s pilot episode.

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The Last of Us received a full series order at HBO in November of last year, giving the project the official green light to move forward. Neil Druckmann, Naughty Dog co-president and one of the directors for the games, is writing and executive producing the HBO series with Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Casting for the show is in full swing, with the production having enlisted Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, and Gabriel Luna as Tommy. A release timeline for The Last of Us on HBO has not been revealed yet, but we at least know Ali Abbasi and Jasmila Žbanić are along for the ride as directors.

HBO’s The Last of Us project is said to follow a story similar to the original tale told by Naughty Dog in 2013. So, you can expect to follow Joel as he escorts the cordyceps-immune Ellie across America, with the goal of finding a cure for a world-ending infection. Plot specifics are still hazy, so it’s unclear how far the show will deviate from its source material.


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Michael Cripe
Michael joined The Escapist team in 2019 but has been covering games, movies, TV, and music since 2015. When he’s not writing, Michael is probably playing Super Mario Sunshine, Dead Space, The Binding of Isaac, or Doom Eternal. You can follow his news coverage and reviews at The Escapist, but his work has appeared on other sites like OnlySP, Gameranx, and Kansas City’s The Pitch, too. If you’d like to connect and talk about the latest pop-culture news, you can follow Michael on Twitter (@MikeCripe), Instagram (mike_cripe), or LinkedIn if that’s your thing.