Why 'The Last Of Us' Movie Will Succeed

The Last of Us was only released on PlayStation 3 a year ago. After winning nearly 200 "Game of the Year" awards and re-releasing the game for PlayStation 4, the plans to adapt it into a feature full-length movie may just turn The Last of Us into one of the biggest things in entertainment.

Granted, video game movies certainly don't have the greatest track records. The Resident Evil film franchise is flawed, Prince of Persia was a disgrace, and let's not even talk about the Super Mario Bros. movie. So, does this make The Last of Us doomed for the same fate? The movie has a lot to live up to: the version released on PS3 in June 2013 has a 95 Metacritic rating, and the re-tuned and re-mastered version released for PS4 last week has the same rating, as well. The Last of Us strives in its story telling, cinematics, and character development, so it's pretty easy: nail all of that, and you've probably got a great movie. If it were only that simple! But, so far, things are looking good.

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Though the film is a couple of years away from hitting theaters, producer Sam Raimi and screenwriter Neil Druckmann answered questions at a panel at ComicCon to give a little more insight as to what to expect. First off, Druckmann is not only the screenwriter for the movie, but he's also the creative director at Naughty Dog, the studio that created The Last of Us game. What this means is that you've got the guy who essentially made the game making the script, and that sounds like a pretty good deal. Another issue with movie adaptations is trying to squeeze a massive 15 to 20 hour campaign in just a couple hours on the big screen. For The Last of Us, the game's playtime spans around the 15 hour mark, and Bruckmann originally planned on changing the ending until Raimi talked him out of it.

Raimi, who commonly directs films too (most notably The Evil Dead and Spider-Man series), will instead be handing off the hiring for a director to Bruckmann. Though nobody has been mentioned to be in the running, you can't rule out Fede Alvarez, the director behind Raimi's The Evil Dead reboot in 2013. Alvarez has also been signed on to direct the upcoming Dante's Inferno movie, which also was originally a video game released in 2010. Other names that have been mentioned for The Last of Us movie haven't been behind the scenes, but rather the cast itself. Actress Maisie Williams has been in talks with Raimi and Druckmann to play the lead role of Ellie, though the talks are only preliminary.

Next page: Who else could play the roles?

Williams, who currently has a role on Game of Thrones, was met with applause when mentioned as being in the running for Ellie, but while she'd be a good fit, the door is wide open for plenty of other starlets. For instance, Elle Fanning and Hailee Steinfeld could easily play the part of the 14 year old character. The one actress you can rule out? Ellen Page. Not only because she's too old, but she wasn't very pleased with the game when the first images of Ellie appeared, and happened to look just like her. Of course, a role that's just as important is the other lead character, Joel. Both Josh Brolin and Hugh Jackman suit the looks of the character, but some fans were lobbying for the casting of Bruce Campbell - the star of the original Evil Dead trilogy and upcoming television adaptation. Raimi says it's unlikely he gets the part, but that he'll definitely get a spot in the film.

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Making a movie for The Last of Us is going to be a tough task - there's no doubt about it. Social media opinions are already sounding off for it to not even be made at all. However, there's a lot of potential here, and it seems like Druckmann and Raimi are both dead set on delivering a film that captures the true essence of what The Last of Us brings as a video game. The problem with video game movies is that, too often, they're only treated as a quick cash in from the name. The fact that the people behind the movie genuinely seem like fans, and not just businessmen, lead us to believe that - for now - this movie can only improve upon The Last of Us' legacy.