Earlier today, we had heard that Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey had been cast as Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us TV Series. Now Deadline reveals that another Game of Thrones alum and The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal has been cast as her co-lead Joel. This comes off Mahershala Ali passing on the role.
Based on the critically acclaimed video game The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation platforms, the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Game of Thrones‘ Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Craig Mazin will serve as showrunner after his time on HBO’s Chernobyl. The video game writer Neil Druckmann will also help write and produce the project for HBO.
The Last of Us will debut on HBO
