Television adaptations of any media form has always been a source of controversy. With the likes of books, real life events and iconic figures being transformed onto the cinema and television screen, reviews are often mixed. More recently, video games have become the latest offering to be adapted for the screens. Though not an entirely new concept, for example the Resident Evil games were adapted into an entire film series alongside games such as Tomb Raider, adaptations of these games are now becoming long form television series. It seems to be more of a trend with The Last of Us, Arcane and Fallout all being developed in the past few years.

What happens during pre-production?

Before adapting, producers of the shows need to ensure that they are satisfying the fans of the game first and foremost. This is where their main audience will come from initially and so pleasing them is a large portion of the challenge. The shows usually need to stick with the original source material, staying as true as they can, while also adding new and exciting elements so that the exact same story is not just rehashed in a different format. 

Elizabeth Lowther, a major fan of The Last of Us game series, talked to us about the changes the TV show made. “It’s nice in a way, it’s something different. You wouldn’t want to watch the exact same thing you’ve just played word for word and scene for scene.” 

The Last of Us was originally greenlit as a film, though after being put into development purgatory in 2016, it was found that to do the storyline and pacing justice that it would work better as a television show with the first season covering the first game and the second game being covered by any subsequent seasons.

“The first season’s storyline was great, it was pretty much the same as the game.

“There were only small changes but they made sense in the grand scheme of things. Season two was a little different, so far there’s been loads of changes. Ones that don’t really add anything or stuff that only people who’ve played the game will notice have been missed out.”

Casting

When developing a show that already has a solid base of fans with expectations, it can be difficult to tailor what is needed to what will be preferred.

“The casting’s really good. You want them to look similar but also be good actors that can bring the story to life.” 

When casting for the show was released, some fans weren’t too happy with Bella Ramsey being chosen as one of the main characters, Ellie. Despite not even seeing them act as the character, they were quick to protest that they didn’t look like Ellie did in the game. 

“The Bella Ramsey hate was over the top, it didn’t even make sense, you’re never going to find someone that looks exactly like Ellie does.” 

“Pedro Pascal’s casting didn’t kick up any fuss, his casting was a ten out of ten.” 

Further controversy occurred during season two’s casting when Kaitlyn Denver was cast as the season’s antagonist. Some online opposed her casting once again due to her appearance as the character is meant to be feared and they believed that Denver couldn’t evoke these emotions due to her stature. 

Challenges

With fans’ opinions and expectations being a major challenge when developing a game into a TV show, other forces also come into play. The interactivity of games and the narrative structure is often hard to translate when you’re simply watching the show. 

During the second The Last of Us game, the player plays as both Ellie and Abbey in their own storylines with these happening simultaneously. This poses a problem for the creators of the show as to how they will show this. “I don’t know how they’re going to do it, especially with the pace of things right now, we can’t be getting it all this season.” Fans have been left questioning if they will see Abby’s perspective and how it will play out. 

As more shows like The Last of Us and Fallout become successful, doors are opening for more games to be developed into shows. For those with a passion for games and production, the possibilities are endless.

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