As current affairs have taught us, it’s best to ride out a pandemic with a small group of people you know and love. Perhaps that’s why HBO has turned to Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey to get them through the zombie pandemic in the upcoming adaptation of the video game The Last of Us.
As previously reported, Chernobyl scribe Craig Mazin will adapt The Last of Us alongside the game’s creator, Neil Druckmann. While reports trickled in about the cast yesterday, Druckmann confirmed the news on Twitter, first writing “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Bella join the TLoU family!” and following that up a few hours later with “Aaaaand there’s the other half. Stoked to have Pedro aboard our show!”
Released on PlayStation in 2013, The Last of Us is among the most critically acclaimed blockbusters in the history of the medium, with a Metacritic rating of 95 out of 100 and over 20 million units sold. It’s set 20 years after the zombie apocalypse, when the Infected roam freely and most survivors live in heavily policed militarized zones. One smuggler, a bereaved father named Joel (Pascal), is tasked with helping 14-year-old orphan Ellie (Ramsey) to reach a mysterious group called the Fireflies. While Ellie herself is infected, she never undergoes the horrifying zombie transformation, giving hope to the survivors for a cure. But while this supplies the plot its forward momentum, the story is beloved for the nuanced relationship between Joel and Ellie. A sequel, The Last of Us Part II, came out in 2020.
Now 17, Ramsey’s breakout role came in a nine-episode arc on Game of Thrones as Lyanna Mormont, the 10-year-old head of House Mormont of Bear Island. From 2017-20 she starred in the CBBC series The Worst Witch, and last year she reunited with HBO on His Dark Materials. As for Pascal, the 45-year-old veteran also had a scene-stealing turn on GoT as Oberyn Martell. He starred in the Netflix series Narcos, but these days he’s known worldwide as the titular hero of The Mandalorian. He recently threatened the world in Wonder Woman 1984, and earlier this week he joined the cast of Judd Apatow’s quarantine comedy The Bubble.
We're absolutely thrilled to have Bella join the TLoU family! https://t.co/4v9TbLhcMr
— Dr. Uckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) February 11, 2021
Aaaaand there’s the other half. Stoked to have Pedro aboard our show! https://t.co/Etsjvfb2Wi
— Dr. Uckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) February 11, 2021