HBO says The Last of Us series won't air in 2022

HBO has confirmed that the TV series "The Last of Us" currently in production will not be released this year.

“It’s not going to be in 2022 — they’re still shooting in Canada. I think you’re going to see it in 2023,” Casey Alois, head of programming at HBO and HBO Max, told Deadline.

“I’ve seen some of the early episodes and I’m excited,” he joked. “Craig did Chernobyl for us and he’s a fantastic writer and director. What I’ve seen looks really great, so I’m excited about it, but it’s not coming out in 2022.”

The Last of Us adaptation is the first TV series from PlayStation Productions, a studio formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) to adapt its original games for film and television. Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin will write and produce the series with Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann. Filming began in July 2021 and is expected to wrap up in mid-2022.

This series will cover the content of "The Last of Us 1" released in 2013, and may also include content based on "The Last of Us 2", which was released in 2020 and caused great controversy due to some of its plots.

"Game of Thrones" actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will play the show's protagonists Joel and Ellie. Actress Thandie Newton's daughter Nicole Parker will play Joel's daughter Sarah, and Gabriel Luna will play Joel's brother Tommy.

The first film released by PlayStation Productions was Uncharted, starring Tom Holland, which was released this month and did moderately well at the box office.

Recently, there have been reports that the PS5 remake of "The Last of Us 1" is about to be completed and may be released in the second half of 2022. In addition, the director's cut of "The Last of Us 2" is also in production.

In January, Druckmann said Naughty Dog was "eager to share with fans" the "multiple game projects" the studio was developing. It is understood that the company is working on its "first standalone multiplayer game," which could be a standalone expansion based on the delayed online mode from The Last of Us Part II.