You wouldn’t expect a trailer featuring fungal zombies and a-ha’s 1985 hit “Take On Me” to make you tear up, but the trailer for HBO’s The Last of Us somehow manages to do all that… and more.
The adaptation of the hit video game The Last of Us takes us into a future where the world has been ravaged by a parasitic infection—which sees victims devolve into monsters known as clickers. Although many people have managed to survive this apocalypse, there is still no known cure. That’s where smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) comes in: He’s tasked with carrying a precious cargo westward. That cargo? A headstrong teenager named Ellie (Bella Ramsey), whose immunity to infection may make her the key to saving the world.
This latest trailer for The Last of Us does a great job establishing the reluctant relationship between Joel and Ellie and bringing the world of the video game to life. Perhaps most affecting are the teaser’s nods to the show’s source material. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who voiced and provided the motion capture for Joel and Ellie in the video game, make quick appearances. Baker appears to be playing a henchman for antagonist David, while Johnson is potentially playing Ellie’s mother Anna. Oh, and that song playing throughout most of the trailer? That’s “Take On Me,” used to devastating effect in The Last of Us: Part II. So is The Last of Us show going to make us cry like the game did? Based on this trailer, all signs point to yes.
The Last of Us premieres Jan. 15 at 9 pm E.T. on HBO and HBO Max.
