HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation was praised by critics and fans alike, and its record-breaking viewership numbers are proof of its success. Its impact is such that it has seemingly given Chad Stahelski a confidence boost for his upcoming Ghost of Tsushima movie.
Stahelski recently appeared on the Post Credit Podcast (via ComicBook), where he discussed John Wick 4 and other projects he is working on. Upon being asked about Ghost of Tsushima he said, “Rainbow Six, Ghost of Tsushima I’m working on. Both are fantastic projects that I really hope come to fruition. But Ghost… it’s got an amazing story. It’s the anti-samurai samurai movie. It’s got great thematics.”
Speaking further, he also mentioned how The Last of Us has proven that you can get video game adaptations right. “I hope that The Last of Us shines a further light on upcoming video game adaptions,” he said. He also remarked how TLOU lifted the “curse of video game-to-movie” and believes that such adaptations just need to be given love and attention. He’s also optimistic about the Ghost of Tsushima project which, according to him, is the “one that’s going to land” out of the other video game adaptations in development.
Video game adaptations have always been difficult to get right. TLOU was praised for staying true to the source material while not being afraid to add some original content, something its predecessors failed to do. With Ghost of Tsushima, Stahelski already has big aspirations, such as possibly making the movie entirely in Japanese with a completely Japanese cast. Apparently, Sony likes this idea, so this could actually happen. Additionally, award-winning writer, Takashi Doscher is writing its screenplay, which is great news.
However, it might take a while for the movie to release as Stahelski mentioned that it was stuck in a “business flux”. The good news is that there is a script in place, but there is still no word on the cast. Alongside Ghost of Tsushima, Stahelski is also working on a Rainbow Six movie starring Michael B. Jordan, who will return as John Clark from Without Remorse.
