Pedro Pascal Leads The Cast For The “Last Of Us” Series

Film adaptations of video games have always been something of a mixed bag. Most have been dismal failures that most would be happy to forget, from the woeful Need for Speed, to multiple errant attempts at turning the Hitman franchise into something watchable. There are a few gems, though, like last year’s Sonic, which was a surprising success, and 1995’s Mortal Kombat, which has just the right amounts of camp and action to be fun. However, PlayStation’s award-winning Last of Us is one of the few properties that both fans and critics agree could truly hold up to an adaptation.

In fact, HBO leapt at the chance, securing the rights for a series adaptation of the revered game last year. And following on from months of development, the premium cable network dropped several exciting casting choices. It was announced that Pedro Pascal will lead the cast of the show as the main character Joel, while Bella Ramsey will take on the female lead role of Ellie.

The story of Last of Us revolves around the relationship between the characters Joel and Ellie after civilization fell apart after a zombie invasion in a not-too-distant future. Joel is a smuggler in this new world and has to protect young Ellie, who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. They’ll work together to brave the dangerous world that surrounds them, all while trying to save it at the same time.

While these casting announcements have created a lot of hype for the show, it has also led to some worry, as Pascal is also the lead of the Disney+’s The Mandalorian, but it seems that he’ll be able to do both, as he is generally used sparingly in the Star Wars series because of the nature of his character, whose face is hidden by a helmet for the majority of the time.

The game’s original writer and creative director Neil Druckmann has been tapped to write and executive produce alongside Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, while filmmaker Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) has will be helming the pilot episode. There is no timetable set for production, but it’s likely it could begin sometime in the early spring of this year.