Since 2013, September 26th has been commemorated by developer Naughty Dog and fans of The Last of Us as The Last of Us Day. Typically the date is marked by the release of new merchandise; however, this year, in addition to the typical celebrations, HBO released the full-length teaser trailer for its highly anticipated upcoming post-apocalyptic series The Last Of Us, which is set to premiere next year.
The trailer begins with a shot of Joel (Pedro Pascal) walking away from the camera and a series of short atmospheric clips of deprived inner-city areas (potentially pre-destruction of society) ‒ red brick, rusted metal, and graffiti are accompanied by Hank Williams’ haunting country music classic, ‘Alone and Forsaken’.
These initial scenes are followed by a clip of a man (Pascal again) wearing a shattered watch staring at a wall with the pained words “when you’re lost in the darkness.” After this is a shot of what appear to be dark Converse shoes, perhaps belonging to Ellie, (Bella Ramsey) shackled in chains. These opening 20 seconds are followed by images of civilisation in decay, with a particularly impressive image (0:26) of crumbling buildings overtaken by nature, with what appear to be fallen skyscrapers in the background.
An additional highlight of the trailer for anyone familiar with the video game is the remarkably accurate clicker (a type of the ‘infected’, zombie-like creatures in the game), which is teased in silhouette from 0:33 – 0:40 before being briefly revealed at 01:16. Juxtaposing the preceding chaos, the trailer concludes with blue skies and the silhouette of Joel and Ellie riding a horse.
In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, the trailer also reveals the involvement of several cast members including Gabriel Luna, Storm Reid, Anna Torv, Jeffrey Pierce, Nick Offerman, Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, and Con O’Neil.
An initial 20-second teaser trailer was featured in a compilation of trailers spotlighting upcoming projects released by HBO in August 2022. A premiere date for HBO’s The Last of Us has not yet been set, however, the trailer indicates that the series will premiere in 2023.
Words by Luke Horwitz
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