Sam Raimi to produce The Last of Us movie

Joel and Ellie, the main characters in The Last of Us.

Screen Gems has picked up the distribution rights for a film adaptation of The Last of Us.

Sam Raimi and Ghost House Pictures will produce the film along with Naughty Dog co-presidents Evan Wells and Christophe Balestra, and game director Bruce Straley.

The script will be penned by Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann.

"Brian Dukes and Eric Ling brought this game to my attention insisting we go after it, and when I saw the quality of the storytelling, I knew the audience for this project was far greater than just the gaming community and that Neil Druckmann must write the screenplay," said Screen Gems president Clint Culpepper.

"I am thrilled that Sony Computer Entertainment America's Riley Russell was able to get me in front of Neil and Evan Wells to plead my case. Sam and his team at Ghost House round out the perfect team to help realise Neil's vision.

"Our partnership with Sam Raimi, Ghost House Pictures, and Screen Gems to develop a film based on The Last of Us universe is a perfect fit," added Evan Wells.

"Since our game released last June, we've talked with many companies about making a film, but we couldn't have found better partners who share our creative vision and high standards. We look forward to collaborating with Sam, his team, and Screen Gems, to make a movie that will thrill fans of The Last of Us and general audiences worldwide."

The Last of Us was first tipped for a film adaptation in November when Sony Pictures registered two domains relating to the project.

The domains TheLastOfUs-Movie.com and TheLastOfUsMovie.net were registered on November 25 by Mark Monitor, an online brand protection agency of which Sony is a customer. The registrant email supplied is a Sony Pictures address.

- Gameplanet