A brand new trailer has just dropped for HBO Max’s upcoming new series, The Last of Us, which is set to premiere on January 15.
Based on a popular video game, the post-apocalyptic story follows Joel (portrayed by Pedro Pascal in the TV show) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey).
Previously, a trailer had been released, but the new one takes a closer look at the relationship between Joel and Ellie as they travel across the US as zombies roam the landscape.
These zombies are caused by the cordyceps infection, and the characters in the new series have to avoid them for all the usual zombie reasons.
The pair are not family, but the trailer does focus heavily on family as Joel smuggles Ellie “out of an oppressive quarantine zone.”
Initially, Joel does not seem interested in anything beyond the transaction, but that is likely set to change as the series progresses.
Ellie is ‘cargo,’ in the new trailer for The Last of Us
The clip starts with Ellie and Joel having a conversation about family.
“You keep going for family,” Joel says.
“I’m not family?” Ellie asks as she is seated in a car alongside Joel, a map in her hand.
“No, you’re cargo,” Joel responds.
It seems a pretty cold thing for someone to say to a 14-year-old girl, but it becomes clear very quickly why it is so important that Joel smuggle Ellie out of the quarantine zone.
Why is Ellie so important?
It appears that Ellie might be the answer to a cure for the zombie problem.
“Somewhere out West, they’re working on a cure,” Ellie tells a woman called Tess (Anna Torv).
Ellie then shows her arm, which appears to have scarring running up it.
“I think what really impressed them was the fact I didn’t turn into a monster,” Ellie says, indicating that she has been infected prior but recovered rather than turned into a zombie.
And while Ellie may be the best chance for a cure to this bleak world, it doesn’t mean Joel is going to go soft on her. Instead, he insists she follows his every instruction as they traverse the US.
But it looks like Ellie just might eventually get under his skin.
“You might not be her father, but you were someone’s,” Joel is told, reminding him that it is important to protect the child.
Joel then asks Ellie whether she trusts him when they are stuck in a tricky situation, indicating once more that the duo might become more important to each other than is first indicated.
However, viewers will have to wait until January in order to find out more about this exciting new series.
The Last of Us will premiere on HBO Max on January 15.