The Last of Us’ TV Success Is Testament to Naughty Dog’s 15 Years of Growth
It’s like it's 2013 all over again – the world is captivated by The Last of Us. But what was once an obsession for just PlayStation owners is now a much broader phenomenon, with gamers and non-gamers alike enraptured by HBO’s critically-acclaimed television adaptation. At this point, with a Metacritic score of 84 and the season finale in sight, it’s safe to say that Naughty Dog’s game has translated beautifully to the screen.
Just one year ago, though, the same couldn’t be said about another live-action project adapted from the studio’s work. 2022’s Uncharted movie, starring Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, was a critical dud. While our own review was more positive than the majority that contributed to its Metacritic score of just 45, we wrote that it was “safe but serviceable” – a far cry from the glowing reviews received by The Last of Us.
The gulf between these critical scores does more than separate a poor movie from a great television show. They also point to the growth and maturation of Naughty Dog as a storyteller. The studio has honed its craft over 15 years, and these adaptations draw on two very different ends of that decade-plus journey; periods that can broadly be described as the ‘Hennig era’ and ‘Druckmann era’.
The Uncharted movie pulls from the Hennig era. Back in 2004, with the dawn of the PlayStation 3 approaching, Naughty Dog sought to explore new territory beyond the 3D platformers it was known for. Led by director Amy Hennig, the studio created Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, an incredibly cinematic spin on the kind of adventures typically associated with Lara Croft. Inspired by pulp magazines and Indiana Jones, Uncharted had a romantic sense of adventure; light and breezy, even in the face of danger.
Henn
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