The Last Of Us Adaptation Will Feature Several Actors From The Game
The Last of Us live-action cast will have Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, and Merle Dandridge from the video game.
The Last of Us video game gave us some of the best performances in a video game to date, so it makes sense that HBO is bringing some of the voice actors along for its live-action series. The confirmed cast members from the game who will be making the leap to live-action include Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, and Merle Dandridge (via The Direct). Let’s take a look at who these actors who be playing.
First up is Troy Baker, who played Joel in The Last of Us Part 1 and Part II. Pedro Pascal will be taking over the role of Joel for the HBO series while Troy Baker is on board to play James, a member of a group of cannibalistic settlers. James was played by Rueben Langdon in the original games.
Next up we have Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie in The Last of Us Part 1 and Part II. Since Johnson is now 39, it would have been difficult for her to play Ellie in live-action, who is nine years old in the first game. Bella Ramsey will be playing the role of Ellie in the HBO series while Ashley Johnson plays her mother, Anna Williams.
It’s fitting for Ashley Johnson to be playing the mother of the character she voiced throughout the course of two games, but it’s also an interesting choice. It’s interesting because Ellie’s mother actually never appears on-screen in The Last of Us. She died after giving birth to Ellie and was only ever mentioned, so it seems like there might be some flashbacks or some liberties taken with the source material.
Next, we have Jeffrey Pierce, who played Joel’s brother Tommy in The Last of Us Part 1 and Part II. Gabriel Luna will be taking up the role of Tommy in the HBO series while Pierce takes on the role of Perry. Perry is a quarantine zone rebel in the show, but he isn’t a character who appeared in the games.
Finally, we have Merle Dandridge who played Marlene in The Last of Us video games. Unlike her video game co-stars, Dandridge will be the only one who is reprising her voice role in live-action. Marlene was a Fireflies militia leader and led the rebellion against the U.S. military in the quarantine zones.
Fans are always wary of adaptations of their favorite video games, but it seems like the HBO The Last of Us series is making an effort to pay homage to and respect the beloved source materials. HBO is also giving the show a big budget and stacking the cast, so it’s certainly shaping up to be a show that could be special. The video games are already incredibly cinematic and tell a fantastic story, so the HBO series just need to adapt it properly for the screen and stick the landing.
Along with casting some of the original voice actors, The Last of Us HBO series is sure to have plenty of Easter eggs from the games for fans to watch for. Fortunately, we don’t have much longer to wait. HBO will premiere the series on Sunday, January 15, 2023.
