'The Last of Us' and Other Video Games That Have Been Adapted for TV and Film

The Last of Us

In a show that's been dubbed "the best adaptation of a video game ever made," HBO seems to have found a winner.

Starring Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in leading roles as Joel and Ellie, the story follows Joel's journey, with his daughter, Sarah (Nico Parker), as they work to smuggle Ellie out of an oppressive quarantine zone.

The series takes place decades after civilization has been destroyed and is based on a 2013 video game.

Nick Offerman, Murray Bartlett, Gabriel Luna, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce and Anna Torv also star in the series. Following its premiere on Jan. 15, 2023, a new episode is released each Sunday on HBO Max.

The first The Last of Us Game was released for PS3 in 2013. The Last of Us Part II, a sequel to the first game, debuted on PS5 in 2020. In September, The Last of Us Part I was re-released on PS5 as a complete rebuild of the first game.

Sonic the Hedgehog

Based on the popular Sega gaming franchise, Sonic the Hedgehog broke video game movie records when it hit theaters in 2020. When the film's sequel came out in 2022, it took its predecessor's place as the highest-grossing video game to film adaptation in North America.

The franchise, which follows the speedy blue hedgehog and stars James Marsden, Jim Carrey and Idris Elba, shows no signs of slowing down with Paramount Pictures investing in more Sonic sequels and spinoffs. The studio announced in February 2022 that Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was officially in development, even before the second installment was released, and that a Paramount+ series about the character Knuckles, voiced by Elba, was also in the works.

The Sonic the Hedgehog video game first came out in 1991.

Detective Pikachu

Ryan Reynolds voices the iconic Pikachu in 2019's Pokémon Detective Pikachu, which sees the adorable yellow creature befriend and help a young man, Tim Goodman, to solve the disappearance of his father in the streets of Ryme City.

The film also stars Kathryn Newton, Bill Nighy, Suki Waterhouse and Rita Ora and features appearances by other favorite Pokémon characters.

Pokémon was first introduced in the U.S. in 1998.

The Angry Birds Movie

2016's The Angry Birds Movie, inspired by the viral game, centers on an island populated entirely by happy birds – though everything changes when a group of mysterious green pigs arrive.

Jason Sudeikis stars as Red, who along with Chuck (Josh Gad) and Bomb (Danny McBride), has to figure out what the pigs are up to.

The movie also features Bill Hader as the pigs' spokesman Leonard, Maya Rudolph, Peter Dinklage, Kate McKinnon, Keegan-Michael Key, Danielle Brooks and Blake Shelton.

In 2019, a sequel to the film was also released, 10 years after the game hit it big in the U.S.

Max Payne

Max Payne was released as a video game in 2001 and is "about a man on the edge, fighting for his justice while uncovering plot twists and twisted thugs in the gritty bowels of New York during the century's worst blizzard," per Rockstar Games' website.

In the film adaptation of the game, released in 2008, Mark Wahlberg takes on the titular role of a cop who is looking to avenge the death of his family, per HBO Max.

Wahlberg is joined by Mila Kunis, Ludacris, Beau Bridges, Olga Kurylenko and Chris O'Donnell.

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Based on the iconic 1990s video game icon Lara Croft, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, starring Angelina Jolie, was released in 2001 and Jolie reprised the role again in 2003's Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – The Cradle of Life.

The role of Croft, the explorer and archaeologist, was taken over by Alicia Vikander in the franchise's third installment, Tomb Raider, in 2018.

While there were talks of a sequel to 2018's film, nothing has been set in stone. In 2021, Vikander shared that she'd love to step back into the role and that script was "in the making."

Resident Evil

Resident Evil the video game was first launched by developer Capcom in 1996 and has sold more than 100 million units worldwide. The film adaptation starring Milla Jovovich (pictured) first hit theaters in 2002 and spawned five sequels. But, the expansion of the Resident Evil universe didn't stop there.

There have been various animated films made based on the game and in July 2021, Netflix released its own Resident Evil series, Infinite Darkness. Later that year Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City was released starring Kaya Scodelario, Avan Jogia, Hannah John-Kamen and Robbie Amell.

In 2022, yet another iteration hit Netflix in the form of an eight-episode series called simply: Resident Evil.

Mortal Kombat

Like many of these video game adaptations, Mortal Kombat didn't stop with just one film.

The first movie based on the martial arts video game from the '90s was released in 1995 and starred Linden Ashby, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Robin Shou, Bridgette Wilson, Talisa Soto, and Christopher Lambert. Another film followed in 1997 with a third installment released more than two decades later in 2021. A fourth film was announced early last year.

The video game has sprouted not only the film franchise, but TV shows, comic books and even a theatrical stage show that toured in the mid-'90s.

Super Mario Bros.

In 1993, Super Mario Bros., a live-action film based on the popular Nintendo video-game franchise of the same era, was released starring Bob Hoskins as Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi (pictured), Samantha Mathis as Daisy and Dennis Hopper as King Koopa.

In September 2021, Illumination and Nintendo Co. announced an all-star cast for brand-new movie. The upcoming The Super Mario Bros. Movie, set to be released just about 30 years after the 1993 film, will star Chris Pratt as Mario, Anya Taylor-Joy as Princess Peach and Charlie Day as Luigi.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie will open in theaters on April 7, 2023.