Production is now underway on HBO's adaptation of Naughty Dog's award-winning The Last of Us video game in Alberta, Canada, and star Gabriel Luna has shared our first behind-the-scenes image from the set.
The photo features Luna (Tommy), Pedro Pascal (Joel), and recent cast addition Nico Parker (Sarah). While it may not look like these guys are in-costume as their respective characters, this is almost certainly the opening scene of the game, which takes place before the world really goes to hell in a handbasket.
Spoilers for the game, and more than likely the show, follow.
Sarah only appears very briefly in the first game before being killed by one of the infected, but her memory drives Joel on his journey and informs his relationship with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as the story progresses. There's a good chance the character will be given a slightly expanded role in the series, however.
Merle Dandridge (The Night Shift, Sons of Anarchy, The Flight Attendant) is also on board as Marlene, the Firefly resistance movement leader she voiced in the games, while Terminator: Dark Fate actor Gabriel Luna will play Joel's brother Tommy.
The Last of Us is set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centers on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the game's creator Neil Druckmann are writing and executive producing the show. The first season will adapt the events of the original game, but is also expected to include elements of the sequel. Druckmann recently confirmed that the series will take some liberties with the story.