HBO‘s The Last of Us (an adaptation of the PS4 game set twenty years after an infection has ravaged humanity and left disparate groups trying to survive the infected and each other) seems to be progressing nicely with concrete decisions made about the casting. Two familiar genre names will be heading up the main parts.
Pedro Pascal, fresh from The Mandalorian and playing the villain in Wonder Woman 1984, will be emerging from under the famous helmet to essay the role of Joel, the smugger who is entrusted with a very special ‘shipment’ which turns out to be Ellie, a young girl who was bitten by one of the infected but seems impervious to its effects. Though lots of names were linked to the role of Ellie over the last few months, it’s British actor Bella Ramsey, late of Game of Thrones (in which she played Lyanna Mormont), The Worst Witch (as Mildred Hubble) and His Dark Materials (as Angelica), who appears to have nabbed that lead role.
The adaptation of the game was first announced as being in development at HBO nearly a year ago and it got a formal series order in November. Naughty Dog, the game’s developers had a massive hit on their hands with the original game and won major awards for The Last of Us: Part Two, which was released in May 2020. It is believed that the first game will provide much of the story going forward, given that there was a change of focus in its sequel.
