The Last of Us
Lead characters Ellie and Joel in The Last of Us Sony

KEY POINTS

  • Writer Neil Druckmann also promises 'big changes'
  • Game of Thrones' Maisie Williams is a favourite to play Ellie

The Last of Us movie seems to be rolling quite nicely toward becoming a reality, with writer Neil Druckmann (who also wrote and directed the Naughty Dog-developed game) giving an update on the film's status.

Speaking to Game Informer in their latest issue (via Gamespot), Druckmann said the movie would stay faithful to its namesake in terms of tone but would also include "some big changes".

"[It's] pretty faithful to the game," he said. "There are some big changes, but the tone and what the story's trying to say is pretty faithful to the game."

Having completed his first draft, Druckmann is currently working on the second, and says a group of actors has already read through the first draft. Among the actors rumoured for the film is Game of Thrones' Maisie Willaims, who is favourite to play Ellie and seems likely to get the gig.

Druckmann added that the writing process was going "really well".

Set to be produced by Evil Dead and Spider-Man's Sam Raimi, the project was announced following the monumental success of Naughty Dog's PlayStation exclusive in 2013. Hailed as an instant classic, a remaster was released last summer for the PlayStation 4.

It is estimated that the game sold 1.3 million copies in its first weekend alone, before going on to break all kinds of sales records for a platform exclusive game and winning numerous Game of the Year awards.

No release date has yet been given for the film, but it all seems to be ticking along nicely.