'The Last Of Us' Star Compares Upcoming Series To 'The Mandalorian'

HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us is finally within touching distance. A film adaptation of Naughty Dog’s seminal title spent years stuck in development hell before HBO committed to a TV version of the project, lead by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie respectively.

Filming has been well underway for a number of months leading many to speculate that the show could air as early as 2023. Fans recently spotted Joel, Ellie, Sam and Henry in action during a scene that was being filmed in downtown Calgary, Canada - which is likely inspired by the Pittsburgh sequence of the game. In terms of official updates, there’s been very little to go on but Pedro Pascal is finally offering us some insight into what we might be able to expect from the project.

Speaking of Star Wars, take a look at these incredible character interactions in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga.

During an interview with GQ, Pascal compared The Last of Us’ creative team to that of The Mandalorian, citing that both projects are made with immense passion.

“There’s a very, very creative way of honouring what’s important and also preserving what is iconic to the experience of the video game, and also [including] things you wouldn’t necessarily expect,” Pascal said. “They’re doing some really smart things, [which] is all I can say. It’s similar to the way Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni treat The Mandalorian in how [Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin] are treating The Last Of Us. It’s in good hands because they love it so much … so it really is made for the people that love it.”

Pascal later revealed that he hasn’t actually completed Naughty Dog’s game. “It’s so sad, I haven’t any skill,” he admitted. “I tried, you know and then it was only a matter of minutes before I had to hand it over to my nephew.”

“I found Joel so impressive - I found the whole of it such a visually impressive experience and then I got worried that I would want to imitate too much, which I think could be right in some circumstances, and then a mistake in others,” he added. It sounds like Pascal is certainly inspired by Troy Baker’s original performance. As for his PlayStation skills, I hope his on-screen Joel fares better than his in-game run with the character.