HBO has announced the castings for both Joel and Ellie for the HBO adaptation of Naughty Dog's action-adventure video games The Last of Us. Just yesterday, star of the hit Disney+ show The Mandalorian, Pedro Pascal was announced to be playing Joel. Pascal recently also appeared as Maxwell Lord in DC's Wonder Woman 1984, and also played the role of Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones.
Now, the talented voice actor behind Joel in The Last of Us video game titles, Troy Baker, has given his support to Pascal's casting. In an Instagram post, Baker references The Mandalorian, writing "This IS the way." Also adding that he can't wait to see a side of Joel he never knew.
With one of the most talented voice actors supporting him, Pascal has big shoes to fill and there may not be anyone better to fill them. Pascal's performance in The Mandalorian has been highly praised, so he will look to transfer his acting skills to a complicated character in the middle of apocalyptic America.
Troy Baker also voiced his support for the other leading role, which announced shortly before Pascal's casting for Joel. Ellie will be played by Bella Ramsey, who played the young noblewoman Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones and is the voice behind the title character in the Netflix show Hilda. In Baker's post dedicated to her casting, he writes, "Can't wait to see you kick *ss and throw bricks" referencing one of the many enjoyable combat actions in The Last of Us video games.
Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann also chimed in to the casting choices, voicing his support for both Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. Neil Druckmann will also have a hand in the HBO adaptation along with Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov. With such a talented pool of names working on The Last of Us, the show will hopefully live up to fans' love of the video game series.
The latest entry of the video game series, The Last of Us 2 won more Game of the Year awards than any other game in history. The Last of Us 2 beat out the previous record holder, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt by one Game of the Year award. The Witcher has also been adapted by Netflix, with its second season delayed due to COVID-19, but an anime film of the title is said to be in development by Netflix scheduled for 2021.
The Last of Us television series is in development.