'The Last of Us' film adaptation has entered a "development hell" as revealed by screenwriter and game director Neil Druckmann. Druckmann was tasked to write the upcoming film's script but was unable to offer more optimistic updates regarding the project. Meanwhile, Miranda Cosgrove announced that she would play lead protagonist Ellie.
According to IGN, Druckmann offered the latest update for the planned cinematic adaptation of Naughty Dog's series of survival-horror videogames during a press event for the game 'Unchartered 4: A Thief's End'. The game director is also serving as screenwriter for the project.
He said, "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."
According to another article by /Film, plans for the film were announced two years ago, with Sam Raimi of the original 'Spider-Man' trilogy attached to produce through his studio Ghost House Pictures. Sony also announced that Screen Gems will be distributing the film with Druckmann penning the script. Druckmann managed to write a second draft and performed a read-through with some actors and waiting fans have not heard of any update since.
Maisie Williams, who plays Arya Stark in the popular television series 'Game of Thrones', reportedly met with Raimi for the possible casting of Ellie in the new film. However, nothing has been made official as of the present.
A new post by Moviepilot suggested that another actress may be taking Williams' place in 'The Last of Us'. Miranda Cosgrove of Nickelodeon TV's 'iCarly' confirmed that she will be playing Ellie in the film scheduled to be released sometime in the summer of 2018.
'The Last of Us' film adaptation is based on the critically-acclaimed video game series of the same name. The original games by Naughty Dog are set in a post-apocalyptic world where its inhabitants are forced to defend themselves against cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. The plot focuses on the relationship between central protagonists Ellie and Joel as they attempt to survive the devastation.
