‘The Last of Us’ trailer: Ellie and Joel are here to break your heart

You wouldn’t expect a trailer featuring fungal zombies and a-ha’s 1985 hit “Take On Me” to make you cry, but HBO’s trailer The last of us somehow manages to do all of that…and more.

The adaptation of the hit video game The last of us takes us to a future where the world has been ravaged by a parasitic infection – which sees victims transform into monsters known as clickers. Although many people managed to survive this apocalypse, there is still no known cure. This is where the smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) comes in: he is in charge of transporting a precious cargo to the west. This shipment? A headstrong teenager named Ellie (Bella Ramsey), whose immunity to infection could make her the key to saving the world.

This latest trailer for The last of us does a great job of establishing the reluctant relationship between Joel and Ellie and bringing the video game world to life. The teaser’s nods to the show’s source material are perhaps the most touching. Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who voiced and provided motion capture for Joel and Ellie in the video game, make quick appearances. Baker appears to play a henchman for antagonist David, while Johnson potentially plays Ellie’s mother, Anna. Oh, and that song playing for most of the trailer? It’s “Take On Me”, used to devastating effect in The Last of Us: Part Two. So is The last of us will the show make us cry like the game did? Based on this trailer, all signs point to yes.

The last of us premieres Jan. 15 at 9 p.m. ET on HBO and HBO Max.