10 Video Game TV Shows HBO Should Make After The Last Of Us
Joel and Ellie on HBO? Which other iconic game series should get the HBO treatment next?
The relationship between video game adaptations and gaming fans has been a largely toxic one since Super Mario Bros. served as a cinematic assault against fans and non-fans alike. They're characterized most often by the blatant disregard of the source material in favor of just slapping the name on the project and calling it an adaptation.
Resident Evil, to gamers, is a series known best for its tense atmosphere and unrelenting zombie action. For fans of the movie, it's known for cheesy acting, bad CGI, and even worse writing. It serves as a perfect representation of how executives see dollar signs when looking at a franchise versus an opportunity to make something special.
Thankfully, things have been on an uptick recently. The Witcher, Detective Pikachu and Sonic The Hedgehog were all great successes and were warmly-received thanks to their clear respect for the property.
And now, with the recent news of The Last of Us HBO adaptation run by the head of HBO's excellent Chernobyl series and series co-creator Neil Druckmann, many are eager to throw out more ideas on which potential video games the network should adapt next (myself included).
10. Dead Space
The world of horror video games is, unfortunately, regularly butchered during the movie adaptation process. While projects like Resident Evil, Silent Hill, and Alone in the Dark had a fair share of problems, the complete lack of vision and imagination made it so NOBODY could enjoy them. However, if you put a horror game adaptation in the hands of HBO-level talent, it'll be something special.
And with Netflix calling dibs on the Resident Evil franchise, a great horror alternative would be the brutally-visceral Dead Space series. Set in the cold recesses of space, Dead Space involves Isaac Clarke, an ship systems engineer who is unwittingly trapped in a decimated ship full of the reanimated corpses of former crew members.
Expertly-crafted tension and psychological horror are what make this series so effective, and the opportunity to see this transformed into live-action would be bone-chilling. While high-budget sci-fi is already something of a rarity, the opportunity to make an Alien-level experience available to people sitting on their couch once a week would make it essential viewing.
Dead Space with a HBO budget means cultural event-level sci-fi horror every week. It would fill a need that many consistent TV watchers almost never get fulfilled. True scares, true gory Necromorph frights, brought to you by your friends at HBO.