Deadline reports that Pedro Pascal, well known for Game of Thrones and The Mandalorian, will be starring as Joel in HBO’s upcoming television adaptation of The Last of Us.
First announced last March, the show’s plot will follow that of the original 2013 video game, with Pascal’s Joel struggling to cross a post-apocalyptic former United States alongside Ellie, a teenage girl who may hold the key to humanity’s future. Expect plenty of fungal zombies.
The series’ Game of Thrones connections don’t end with Pascal, who memorably portrayed Oberyn Martell in that show’s fourth season. Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey, who played the young firebrand Lyanna Mormont, will co-star as Ellie, and the show will be executive-produced by Game of Thrones’ Carolyn Strauss, Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin, and of course Naughty Dog’s creative director Neil Druckmann.
No word yet on when The Last of Us (the TV show) will be ready to debut, but it’s not going to be anytime soon.
DISCUSSION
Still not sure how I feel about this being a straight recreation of the game. The world itself is so big and there are so many factions that we could look at. This could be a 4-5 season Walking Dead competitor, but they will be pretty limited just following the core story that will be one and done.
Hopefully HBO secured the rights to the series outside of the games and can make more interesting side stories that bridge gaps between the games with the core cast, or just show all new areas and people.