Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will portray Joel and Ellie in “The Last of Us” TV series

The actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, who we know from “Game of Thrones” and Disney’s “Star Wars”- based “Mandalorian”, will represent the characters of Joel and Ellie in the new HBO adaptation of the famous video game “The Last of Us”. 

Back in March 2020, The Hollywood Reporter announced that the series was indeed in the works, and ever since fans of the game have been trying to figure out what the casting will look like. People on the internet originally felt like Kaitlyn Dever from “Booksmart” was the perfect choice for Ellie and the actress even said that she’d gladly be involved in the project. As for the character of Joel, Mahershala Ali from “True Detective” was one of the suggestions for the upcoming drama.

Neil Druckmann, who is the writer and creative director of the games, reacted to a Twitter post and confirmed the final choice with: “We’re thrilled to have Bella join the TLoU family!” Soon after he added: “Aaaaand there’s the other half. Stoked to have Pedro aboard our show!”

HBO’s adaptation is going to follow the story of the OG “Last of Us” game. It will be scripted by Druckmann and the writer will be Craig Mazin, who was the creator of the miniseries “Chernobyl”. The action is fixed 20 years after a zombifying pandemic takes over North America and survivor Joel is entrusted to get the teenage girl Ellie to the other side of the country, where there are a lab and a cure. As The Hollywood Reporter revealed, the script will additionally incorporate parts from “The Last of Us 2”, which takes place five years after the first game. During a BBC radio talk, Mazin mentioned that the show will build up the story, however, it will not wipe out any sections of the games that are already set. “We’re creating anew and we’re also reimagining what is already there to present a different format. It’s kind of a dream come true for me.” He also claimed that: “I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licensed to someone else, those people don’t really understand it, or are going to change it. In this case, I’m doing it with the guy who did it, and so the changes that we’re making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.” 

Although there are currently no official reports addressing when “The Last of Us” series will be released, the co-production with Sony Pictures Television is supposed to be the first of many to come. (Two years ago Sony disclosed info about the creation of PlayStation Productions, which focuses on TV and movie productions of PlayStation game franchises. PlayStation Productions is also behind the upcoming film, based on the adventure game “Uncharted”, featuring Tom Holland.) Showrunner Craig Mazin recently prolonged his HBO deal with additional three years, which could only mean that we’ll probably be able to watch the series in a couple of years from now.

“The Last of Us” fans are digging the casting choice and that’s more than apparent. Some fans have already imagined what Pedro Pascal would look like in his new role as Joel and even shared their imagination with the world. 

Some remarkable creations are floating around “The Last of Us” subreddit, portraying Pedro as Joel ‒ the main hero in Naughty Dog’s 2013 game and HBO’s series. The following work is one of these creations, where the artist has combined Pascal’s face with some scars to match his survivor story. 

“Thought it might be an interesting experiment to try and envision Pedro Pascal as Joel, so this happened.”

Another artwork from “The Last of Us” subreddit is the following, where the actor once more appears very harsh-looking, which is probably the result of his constant battles to remain alive during the 20 years after the zombie apocalypse. 

It’s pretty clear that with or without these fascinating pieces of art, Pascal is considered a great choice for the role of Joel in the game’s HBO adaptation, as is Bella. They will likely be an amazing team and we can’t wait to see them work together. Even Troy Baker, who’s the actor behind Joel in both of the games, agrees that this is the best casting decision and expressed his happiness about it on Instagram. It’s safe to say we’re excited about “The Last of Us” series on HBO, especially since so many of these talented professionals are going to be involved in the show.