The Last Of Us Series Budget Makes Game Of Thrones Look Tiny
It's bizarre to have followed The Last of Us from launch to now, pause, and realise that the TV series adaptation of the game is right around the corner.
We could've predicted that the game series would be adapted somehow, but with its huge popularity, it was only a matter of time. Now, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are gearing up to be the recognisable Joel and Ellie in pop culture.
And, as the games were a pretty big deal, the show should need a pretty strong budget, right? Well, it looks like HBO has gone above and beyond.
The Last Of Us' Budget Is Huge
Click to enlargeA new suggestion from The New Yorker claims that the budget of The Last of Us is a pretty big deal, with each episode costing more than most of HBO's biggest cultural output of the last decade.
We haven't been told an exact number as of yet, but the report from The New Yorker puts the budget of the full series at "upwards of a hundred million dollars." That's more than the first five seasons of Game of Thrones. Blimey.
Of course, this is what we'd hope for - Joel and Ellie's story is an important one not only in its actual execution, but in proving to the general public that the narrative potential of video games are beyond their expectations.
It comes after Forbes reported in 2021 that the show's budget "well exceeds the eight figure per episode mark." That would also put it over $100 million for its nine-episode run, while the "well exceeds" part has our mind reeling.
Could The Last Of Us Change Minds On Video Game Adaptations?
The original article posits the question of whether The Last of Us could become a new herald for the narrative potential of video games. Not to jinx it or anything, but it could become a very blissful reality.
The cultural understanding of video game movies and series is surmised by the likes of Super Mario Bros, Detective Pikachu and The Witcher, with it being suggested to audiences that series can work and movies can't.
That's unless they're directed at a particularly young audience, which is a sentiment echoed by The Last of Us' Neil Druckmann in his interview with The New Yorker.
But, with the series being so heavily-budgeted and high status, there could be a dramatic shift in the future of video game adaptations. Much like the Cordyceps on the human brain, a change has begun - and we're hoping it's a good one.
