Update 10:56 p.m. ET: A new report says that Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel. The original version of this story just mentioned Bella Ramsey's casting.
What you need to know
- Deadline reports that Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel in The Last of Us TV series on HBO.
- Bella Ramsey, who starred as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones, is attached to play Ellie.
- Despite other reports, Mahershala Ali is not involved.
- The series will be written by Chernobyl's Craig Mazin with Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann executive producing.
After numerous rumors posted by geek websites went up today, two different Hollywood trades have reported that HBO's The Last of Us TV series has found its Joel and Ellie.
First off, The Hollywood Reporter reports that HBO has found its Ellie in its upcoming The Last of Us television series. According to sources, Bella Ramsey, who's known for her breakout role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones, will play Ellie in the series.
Elsewhere, Deadline reports that Pedro Pascal, most recently seen on The Mandalorian and in Wonder Woman 1984 but also on Season 4 of Game of Thrones, has been cast as Joel. According to the report, Pascal turned down some big offers to do The Last of Us.
The series is being written by Chernobyl's Craig Mazin. Neil Druckmann of Naughty Dog is executive producing along with Mazin.
Contrary to previous reports from other websites, THR states that Mahershala Ali is not attached to the project, though he was at one point approached for a role.
The series seems to be following the events of the first game to start, with Joel having to escort Ellie across the U.S. While it looks to be a straight-forward adaptation, it will contain scenes that never made the final cut of the PS3 title. Ellie grew up quite a bit in The Last of Us Part 2, and as many of us know, Joel went through it as well. Love it or hate it, the second game was a follow-up to one of the most beloved titles to ever release, and certainly one of the best PS4 games.
HBO has yet to confirm the news, but Naughty Dog's social media seemed to confirm both castings on Twitter.
Did we say we’re building out the cast? Thrilled to see @PedroPascal1 join @BellaRamsey on the @HBO series of The Last of Us 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/xUODu1ypdXDid we say we’re building out the cast? Thrilled to see @PedroPascal1 join @BellaRamsey on the @HBO series of The Last of Us 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 https://t.co/xUODu1ypdX— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) February 11, 2021February 11, 2021
There's no release date set for the show just yet. Mazin is on the record saying that he doesn't want the show to "violate" anything from the game, and it will feature things that "fans and newcomers alike" will enjoy.
If you've yet to play The Last of Us Remastered, you should really rectify that as soon as possible. It's available in the PlayStation Plus Collection on PS5.
