With fans speculating on who will be cast for HBO’s The Last of Us series, Deadline has confirmed that Joel will be played by The Mandalorian’s Pedro Pascal. The casting announcement of Joel follows news that Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey has signed on to star as 14-year-old Ellie. The adaptation of Naughty Dog and Sony’s hit video game comes from Craig Mazin (HBO’s Chernobyl miniseries) and Neil Druckmann, writer and creative director of The Last of Us games.
Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across post-pandemic America.
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Along with Mazin and Druckmann, other executive producers include Carolyn Strauss, Naughty Dog’s Evan Wells, PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan, and Johan Renck. The series production comes from Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, and Word Games. The pilot episode will be directed by Kantemir Balago.
Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony for PlayStation, The Last of Us released in 2013 and introduced players to a world ravaged by a mutant fungus outbreak. When a smuggler named Joel meets a teenage girl named Ellie who may be the key to a cure, they make their way cross-country, battling scavengers, starvation, poor health, and other challenges. The long-awaited sequel The Last of Us Part II released June 19, 2020, for the PlayStation 4.
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