HBO's The Last Of Us: 9 Scenes We Want To See

Widely considered to be one of the greatest video games ever made, it was only a matter of time before Naughty Dog's The Last of Us received the big screen treatment.

For years, a potential The Last of Us film sat in development hell with Sam Raimi set to direct. Eventually, plans fell apart after the game's director Neil Druckmann protested against the film's action-focused screenplay.

It may have felt like a disappointment at the time, but it's actually a huge win for fans. The Last of Us will now make its TV debut as a big-budget series set to debut on HBO later this year - with Druckmann heading up the project as writer, executive producer, and one of several directors.

If you're unfamiliar with the premise of The Last of Us, the story is set in a post-apocalyptic America where the fungal Cordyceps virus has turned much of humanity into deadly creatures known simply as Infected. Joel (set to be played by Pedro Pascal), a smuggler, is tasked with transporting a young teen called Ellie (Bella Ramsey) across the country.

With the show's budget rumoured to be bigger than that of Game of Thrones, our expectations are high, but forget about them being met:

Can HBO exceed them?

Free of the constraints of gameplay or level design, HBO's Last of Us is set to focus almost entirely on character drama. With that in mind, which extra scenes should be incorporated, based on the games' lore?

We tend to hail Joel as a hero, excusing his many misdeeds because of our love of his relationship with Ellie. The connection between the duo is one of the narrative's very few symbols of hope so we can't be blamed for clinging on to it. The truth is though, Joel has an incredibly dark past and spent several years as a Hunter.

It shouldn't come as much of a surprise. During his journey with Ellie, Joel shoots and hacks his way through endless hoards of human 'enemies' who are enemies simply because they're 'the other' and not with us.

While killing in the name of protecting Ellie is something we understand, would we feel the same way about Joel's hunting days?

The narrative alludes to the fact that Joel and Tommy joined a group of Hunters shortly after the outbreak - killing 'tourists' for their supplies and torturing them for information. Tommy was less of a willing participant than Joel. The Last of Us heavily tackles the themes of morality and redemption. It seems only fair that HBO's The Last of Us divulges Joel's past if we're to accept his redemption .. or not.