You would be hard-pressed to find another show as highly anticipated in 2023 than HBO’s The Last of Us. The series based on the PlayStation video game franchise of the same name, premieres in January. The show has been ramping up its horrific marketing and now the latest image teases Nico Parker’s Sarah’s tragic role in the adaptation.
The image posted to The Last of Us’ social media pages sees Sarah, Joel’s (played by Pedro Pascal) daughter, putting her hand through a sprinkler during a beautiful sunset. Given that she’s wearing a similar light purple colored shirt to the one she wears in the game, this seems to be the eve of “Outbreak Day”. The eerie caption for the image supports that even more as it reads, “Another day in Austin, TX”. We don’t spend a lot of time in Texas in the game, but that’s where Joel and Sarah are from. It’s also the setting of the first game’s insanely scary and emotionally memorable opening. However, this particular image, unlike many of the images we’ve seen so far, is not something that’s ripped straight from the game. Co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have promised that this wasn’t just going to be a one-to-one recreation. The story will be incredibly faithful to the games, but there are going to be some new added elements for longtime fans of the franchise. It looks like we’re going to spend more time with Sarah then we did in the game which is sure to make her arc that much more tragic.
Contrary to popular belief, Sarah’s the first person you take control of in this now-iconic horror franchise. Before chaos ensues, we walk Sarah around her empty dark house trying to find Joel, but he’s nowhere to be found. It’s such an effective prologue to the main story that quickly gets us attached to Sarah and Joel’s world. However, if you’d played the game, you know that Sarah is the brutal catalyst that let gamers know this wasn’t your average zombie game. This was a genre epic with so many rich emotional stakes that could be ripped out from under you at any moment. Every action, every decision, and every heartbreaking scene leads back to Sarah. You feel her presence and her impact on Joel throughout this entire franchise. Right to the bitter end.
The Last of Us has the traditional horror that genre fans love. It has terrifying zombies running around, and your low ammunition always makes its dark decrepit world that much more scary, but the true horror of this franchise comes from the fear of human connection. Both Last of Us games are very human, intimate, stories about dealing with our losses, our traumas, and the fears of letting people get too close. Sarah’s that fear for Joel and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) tries to bring that lost humanity back to him. Because of that, it’s going to be exciting to see what Pedro Pascal and Parker bring to Joel and Sarah’s brilliant father-daughter dynamic. If it’s anything like the game, you’re going to need multiple boxes of tissues.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO January 15 and will consist of nine episodes in its first season. Until then, you can view the Sarah-centric image down below:
via Collider