One of the biggest questions surrounding The Last of Us HBO series is who will play the two lead characters, Joel and Ellie. Yesterday, we saw casting announcements roll out not only for Ellie, but for Joel as well.
Now, we can begin to piece together a clearer picture of what The Last of Us HBO series will look like.
The Last of Us HBO Series Casts Joel and Ellie
Bella Ramsey will play Ellie in The Last of US HBO series
According to updates from outlets like The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline, actress Bella Ramsey will play Ellie and actor Pedro Pascal will play Joel. If the names and faces of these two seem familiar to you, it’s because you might’ve seen both of them on Game of Thrones at one point.
Bella Ramsey played everyone’s favorite little badass of Bear Island, Lyanna Mormont, and Pedro Pascal played the suave (and very, very unlucky) Oberyn Martell. The two have also starred in a number of other notable roles outside Game of Thrones.
Pedro Pascal played The Mandalorian in The Mandalorian, Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984, Javier Peña in Narcos, and Agent Juan Badillo in Graceland. Bella Ramsey on the other hand has played Mildred Hubble in The Worst Witch, Hilda in Hilda, and Angelica in His Dark Materials.
The reception to the casting announcements that Ramsey will play Ellie and Pascal will play Joel have been interesting to say the least.
Pedro Pascal will play Joel in The Last of Us HBO series.
Photo Credit: NME
On Twitter, Pascal seemingly has the blessing of Trok Baker who voiced Joel in the video games, with Baker saying:
“F*ck. Yes. Cannot wait to see what I learn about Joel from Pedro. Buckle up, y’all. We goin for a ride.”
F*ck. Yes.
Cannot wait to see what I learn about Joel from Pedro.
Buckle up, y’all. We goin for a ride. https://t.co/PTrIZ6W3TL
— Troy Baker (@TroyBakerVA) February 11, 2021
Baker also shared confidence in the casting decision of Bella Ramsey as Ellie, saying:
“I know that there ARE those involved in the casting of this particular character. And not just “Hollywood” players but die-hard, fought-in-the-trenches REALLY want to make this groundbreaking fans of this story and characters. I don’t know about you but imma go with them and feel *pretty* good bout trusting their decision. And, just like the rest of ya, wait with bated breath for that first episode.”
There have also been some hilarious responses, like this image of The Last of Us with Joel as The Mandalorian and Ellie as Baby Yoda Grogu.
The Last Of Us pic.twitter.com/onbrYV0O1c
— BossLogic (@Bosslogic) February 11, 2021
With the casting of Joel and Ellie confirmed, we’re one step closer to seeing the HBO series brought to life. And, bringing the show to life, here’s a quick recap of the confirmed crew list:
The Last of Us HBO series will be directed by Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) with the script co-written by Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and Neil Druckmann (The Last of Us, Uncharted), who’ll also serve as an executive producer.
One thing that we find interesting is that Craig Mazin is that not only writing for The Last of Us HBO series, he’s also writing for the Borderlands movie which recently cast Jamie Lee Curtis to play Dr. Patricia Tannis.
We’re curious to see how both adaptations are received once they’re finally released. We’re personally huge fans of the work Mazin did on Chernobyl and recommend checking it out if you haven’t done so already.
We also want to add that other professional names have their hands on The Last of Us HBO series as well, which bodes well for its potential success — other executive producers on board include Carolyn Strauss (Chernobyl, Game of Thrones), Evan Wells from Naughty Dog, and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan.
The story of The Last of Us is a classic, and we know the team is dedicated to bringing it to life as faithfully and respectfully as possible. With that in mind, we’re excited to see where the series goes from here in terms of casting announcements. We’re also curious to hear your thoughts about the casting of Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.
Reach out and let us know how you think The Last of Us HBO series is shaping up on our social media channels including Facebook and Twitter. Also stay tuned as we’ll be posting updates on The Last of Us HBO series as more announcements — casting or otherwise — are made.
Related: The Last of Us HBO Series Producer Promises It Will “Enhance” the Game’s Experience
