The Last of Us Movie Still Stuck in Production Hell

The film adaptation of The Last of Us is progressing as smoothly as it may have seemed.

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Speaking to IGN, producer Sam Raimi talked about the problems that are currently halting the projects production. He touched on the work that has been done on the film recently saying, “I know I said in an interview a while back we had a table read, got the script to a good place and it kind of entered development hell like these things tend to do. … There hasn’t been any work done on it in over a year and a half.”

He went on to say “Well, unfortunately that one — when we went to Neil with Ghost House Pictures we were hoping to get the rights like we do any project and then we’d take it out and sell it but we’d control the rights. With this one he went to Sony — who I have a very good relationship with — but they have their own plans for it and I think Neil’s plan for it — I’m not trying to be political — Neil’s plan for it is not the same as Sony’s. And because my company doesn’t have the rights, I actually can’t help him too much.”

The movie was originally announced two years ago, with the game’s creative director, Niel Druckman, penning the script and serving as producer alongside Raimi. It sounds like there are several conflicting visions for the project, and securing the rights to actually get the ball rolling is much easier said than done. Raimi is still attached to the project and is simply waiting to see when he can move forward with it.

The Last of Us originally released in 2013, telling the story of Ellie and Joel as they desperately fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic cityscape, searching for a cure to the virus that has swept over humanity. It was praised for its character performances, story, and tense and engaging gameplay. Fans have been clamoring for the film adaptation ever since its announcement, but it looks like we still have plenty of waiting to do until we see Joel and Ellie fight their way onto the big screen.