The Last of Us has conquered the world of video games and thanks to the new HBO series it’s probably the most well-known video game adaptation ever on the small screen. Now the franchise is finally, after years of rumors, ready to conquer the world of theme parks, and it’s doing it in the best possible way, as The Last of Us will be part of Halloween Horror Nights at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood this year.
This morning Universal Destinations and Experiences made it official, that a house based on The Last of Us will debut at this year’s Halloween Horror Nights. Now guests will be able to run from Clickers, Stalkers, and Runners and take on the infected just like Joel and Ellie. Dangerous humans The Hunters will also be there. A promo video released by Universal was also released, check it out above.
To be clear, the version of the HHN house coming is based on the video game, so it's using the same source material as the popular HBO series, but isn't directly based on it. So any character likenesses you see won't be based on The Last of Us cast from HBO. It'll be less Pedro Pascal and more Troy Baker. The house will use some popular setpieces from the game including The Hotel Grand.
Along with the house announcement comes the news that Universal Studios Hollywood's Halloween Horror Nights is set to launch September 7 and that as of 9 AM Pacific time today tickets for USH's Horror Nights are on sale. Universal Orlando tickets have already been on sale for its event, set to launch September 1, both will run through Halloween.
Halloween Horror Nights mazes are usually made up of a combination of original concepts and licensed properties. In previous years at Universal Studios in Hollywood and Florida we’ve seen everything from Ghostbusters to Stranger Things to classics like Halloween become part of the annual show. The Last of Us had been one of the mazes that had been rumored in previous years, but it had never been revealed. Perhaps it just took a lot longer to work out the details of the licensing deal, perhaps it took the popularity of the franchise increasing thanks to the TV show to make it a more viable property.
The Last of Us is the second house confirmed for 2023’s Halloween Horror Nights. Universal confirmed a house based on Chucky, the USA Network TV series that follows the events of the Child’s Play film franchise. That house was confirmed way back on November 1, 2022, the day after last year’s HHN ended. It was certainly about as early as an announcement could be made, but since then HHN has remained silent as far as actual announcements. All we've received are creepy-as-hell videos on the HHN Twitter account.
Halloween Horror Nights is the most popular event taking place at Universal Studios Hollywood and Florida, and fans have been excited about this year’s event, so finally getting a new announcement is sure to pump people up. Though this announcement is going to set a high bar for what is to come.
