The fate of HBO’s adaptation of Naughty Dog and PlayStation’s The Last of Us may be hanging in limbo. Amid a week of shakeups at HBO Max, including reports of dropped titles and a possible merge with Discovery+, many fans are now concerned that The Last of Us could be canceled.
Concern surrounding series’ future was first prompted this week when it was confirmed on Tuesday that Warner Bros. Discovery decided not to release Batgirl, a DC Comics film, despite its $90 million budget and the fact that the movie had already finished shooting and was slated to drop on HBO Max. Just a day later, Scoob!: Holiday Haunt, a holiday-themed sequel to the 2020 Scooby-Doo movie, was also canceled despite nearly being completed. That same day, many HBO Max subscribers noticed that six Warner Bros. movies released exclusively to HBO Max were removed. The confusing string of cancellations and removals, which reportedly boiled down to finances, coincided with rumors that HBO Max and Discovery+ are slated to merge, with sources telling The Wrap that such a move would likely result in mass layoffs. Now fans are concerned that The Last of Us could be the next major shakeup to break.
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The series, based on the hit video game of the same name, was first confirmed to be in the works back in 2020. The story takes place 20 years following the end of modern civilization and follows Pedro Pascal’s Joel, a hardened survivor tormented by his own past trauma and failure, who is hired to smuggle 14-year-old Ellie, portrayed by Bella Ramsey, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. The series is also set to star Anna Torv, TLOU voice actress Merle Dandrige, Nick Offerman, Nico Parker, Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Pierce, and Murray Bartlett.Keep scrolling to see what social media is saying.
‘Time to cancel’ subscription
“If HBO max get full with stupid a- reality shows. It’s time to cancel,” one person replied to the above tweet. “I have never watched TV The Discovery channel any way. Not going to start now.”
‘Please’
“Please,,, please dog, with all this s- I’m hearing about HBO, i don’t care about much of it, but please,,, PLEASE PLEASE, do NOT cancel The Last of Us BEFORE IT EVEN AIRS PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE DOG PLEASE,” tweeted another person.
‘Last Straw’
“[Discovery] if you cancel the last of us show because you bought HBO I will find who owns this Twitter account and take them hostage,” wrote somebody else. “Politely.”
‘I don’t know what I’ll do’
“With all the things going at HBO Max,” wrote another, going on to ask, “Is the Last of Us still safe??”
Fans beg for HBO Max not to cancel the series
“please lord do not take the last of us tv show away from us, you’ve already taken most of hbo max,” wrote another.
Some threaten to riot
“Excuse me f-ing what,” asked somebody else. “If HBO Max is disappearing before we get the Last of Us and Our Flag Means Death S2 I’m rioting.”
Is ‘The Last of Us’ really in danger of being canceled?
Thankfully, and despite the drama and rumors surrounding HBO Max, it seems unlikely that The Last of Us series will be dropped. As Comicbook.com notes, The Last of Us is an HBO show, not an HBO Max title, and HBO titles air on the TV network with a simultaneous release on HBO Max. HBO Max originals, meanwhile, go straight to the streamer. The current chaos surrounding WarnerMedia has only surrounded HBO Max and Discovery+, not the cable network. This means fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as The Last of Us is most likely safe.