The new Last of Us trailer shows what Ellie and Joel are up against

HBO’s official trailer for The Last of Us shows off the dynamic between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as the two traverse a post-apocalyptic US amidst the outbreak of a mutant fungus that turns humans into zombie-like beings. It offers a much more detailed look at the dangers the two come across when compared to the previous teaser, including a brief glimpse at the infected themselves.

Like the PlayStation game of the same name, the series has Joel escorting Ellie, who’s immune to the fungus, across the country in hopes of finding a cure for the outbreak. The trailer flashes between scenes of dialogues showcasing Storm Reid as Ellie’s friend Riley and Nick Offerman as Bill. At the end of the trailer, we see a swath of barnacle-covered beings crawling up from out of a fire pit before they start dashing toward the camera.

From what I can tell, it looks like the show has stayed true to the design of the fungal zombies and did a phenomenal job casting, which makes the series seem all the more promising. If you watch this trailer closely enough, you might even spot Ellie’s voice actress in the game, Ashley Johnson, playing Ellie’s mother.

The Last of Us comes from Chernobyl creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann. It lands on HBO Max on January 15th, 2023.