‘The Last of Us’ Series Casts Original Joel And Ellie Actors, And Reveals New Still

I don’t think I’ve ever been as excited for a video game adaptation as I am for HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us series. I mean sure, it helps that The Last of Us is my favourite game but that being said, never has an adaptation seemed to so evidently understand what us video games fans want to see in a big screen treatment.

If you don’t know, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will be bringing Joel and Ellie to life but at this week’s Summer Game Fest, The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann had a very exciting announcement concerning the game’s original Joel and Ellie actors.

The Last of Part 1, a new-gen remake, launches on PlayStation 5 this September. Check out the stunning trailer below.

It’s been revealed that Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson who portrayed Joel and Ellie in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II will also star in HBO’s TV adaptation in key undisclosed roles. Druckmann was quick to confirm that these aren’t tongue-in-cheek cameos. Instead, the actors will portray roles integral to the story. How exciting is that?

Speaking about the experience of working on the show, Ashley Johnson said, “The attention to detail [and] the crew were amazing. Bella and Pedro are so perfect. We’ve been trying to sort of describe that feeling of seeing them in person. It’s like the characters are coming to life but it’s so much more than that. I can’t explain it.”

Speaking of Pascal and Ramsey, we also got another glimpse at the duo in action and it’s the first time we’ve seen their faces whilst in character. The still appears to be taken during the museum portion of the game. We see Joel and Ellie crouched behind a cabinet and if you look really closely in the background, you can see the dark outline of a Clicker. Take a look below.

We don’t know when the TV show is coming but Druckmann did confirm that filming was set to commence on 10 June (so, yesterday) and this was confirmed by showrunner Craig Mazin who took to Twitter to announce “It’s a wrap.” Druckmann teased that the show was coming very soon and with filming now over, we’d hope to see a trailer in the coming months. When it does drop, I will be an excited mess.