The Last of Us: Why Sam Raimi’s movie was canceled

Years before the HBO show, The Last of Us was nearly adapted into a movie by Sam Raimi, the director of The Evil Dead and Spider-Man… but it was canceled – so, what the hell happened?

The Last of Us, Naughty Dog’s acclaimed 2013 PlayStation game, is fast-approaching its screen debut on HBO. Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie respectively, it’s among the most anticipated shows of 2023.

Following the unlikely pair on a cross-country trip across a post-apocalyptic America, rendered overgrown and near-silent after a parasitic fungal infection sweeps the country, its cinematic qualities are only bolstered by its longer form; you need every step, scare, and tear of their immense journey.

Amid acclaim and enough sales to make any exec go “ka-ching!”, a movie adaptation was ordered at Sony, with Sam Raimi set to direct – alas, it’s a project we’ll never see, so let’s get into why it was axed.

What happened to Sam Raimi’s The Last of Us movie?

Development on The Last of Us movie began in March 2014, when Sony announced its subsidiary Screen Gems would distribute the film, set to be written by Neil Druckmann and produced and directed by Sam Raimi.

Squeezing anywhere between 12 and 20 hours of gameplay into a two-hour feature was a daunting task, and Druckmann earlier promised “big changes.” Just two years later, the game’s creator confirmed it had entered “development hell.”

Raimi also told IGN: “Well, unfortunately, that one – when we went to Neil with Ghost House Pictures we were hoping to get the rights like we do any project and then we’d take it out and sell it but we’d control the rights.

“With this one he went to Sony – who I have a very good relationship with – but they have their own plans for it and I think Neil’s plan for it – I’m not trying to be political – Neil’s plan for it is not the same as Sony’s.

“And because my company doesn’t have the rights, I actually can’t help him too much. Even though I’m one of the producers on it the way he set it up, he sold his rights to Sony, Sony hired me as a producer by chance, and I can’t get the rights free for him so I’m not in the driver’s seat and I can’t tell you what Sony and Neil together will decide on. If they do move forward I’d love to help them again.”

It did not move forward, and Screen Gems eventually relinquished the rights. During an appearance on the Script Apart podcast, Druckmann lamented the studio’s approach to the movie, which wanted big set pieces instead of the “indie movie feel” he wanted to strike.

“It didn’t work for The Last of Us and I think that’s ultimately why the movie wasn’t made,” he said.

In a new interview with The New Yorker on the crest of the show’s release in the New Year, Druckmann was asked why the movie fell through. He said executives wanted something “bigger and sexier”, while Raimi and Druckmann were going for “No Country for Old Men” over “World War Z.”

The Last of Us will premiere on January 15, 2023. You can find out more about the show here.