In 2023, fans old and new will encounter Joel and Ellie, a pair of survivors that find themselves embarking on a journey across America, battling infected and brutal humans in a last-ditch effort for hope.The Last of Ushas found critical acclaim with how it told astellar story in the video game world, and now HBO is looking for the same success in a live-action adaption.
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With just a short and exciting trailer,The Last of Usis already looking like one emotional and action-fueled ride. There have been many doubts surrounding the casting of certain characters, but thetrailer should put those doubts to rest.Many characters fromThe Last of Usappear in the trailer, along with the actors that portray them.
9Joel
If there’s an actor that seemingly everyone loves, then look no further than Pedro Pascal. He’s appeared in a lot of movies and shows, including as the protagonist and father to baby Yoda,The Mandalorian. Pascal was cast as Joel Miller for HBO’sThe Last of Us, and if anyone can bring Troy Baker’s Joel to live-action, then it’s him.
Joel is heavily focused on in the trailer, which is unsurprising considering Pascal’s star power and the fact that Joel is the protagonist of the game the show is based off of. Pascal looks the part, with the clothing, facial hair, andiconic broken watch.
8Ellie
The relationship that unfolds between Joel and Ellie is one of the selling points of the game. It’s an emotional connection that spurs from loss, and many are excited to see how Bella Ramsey brings that to life. Bella Ramsey first saw fame as Lyanna Mormont, a fan favorite character from the last season ofGame of Thrones.
Ellie has a very memorable personality from the games. She’s world-weary and vulgar, but in a world full of violence she still has a childlike innocence that needs protection from the darkness. Bella’s dressed as the part of Ellie for the trailer, and many hope she can provide amemorable and emotional journey, just as Ashley Johnson does for the games.
7Tess
A few shots inThe Last of Usteaser trailer show Anna Torv as Tess. Anna Torv is no stranger to great television, featuring Olivia Dunham inFringeand Dr. Wendy Carr inMindhunter. As for Tess, she certainly has the range to pull off the hardened survivor and partner to Joel.
Tess was a beloved character from the first game ofThe Last of Usand had a great relationship with Joel. The chemistry between both Torv and Pascal could be a lot of fun, and watching them battle the criminal underworld’s ruthlessness together will be quite the show.
6Bill
Few characters inThe Last of Usare more aware and paranoid of the world around them than Bill. The character is entirely memorable from the first game, as he has his town, a population of one. It’s filled with traps, infected, and hispost-apocalyptic street smarts.
There are few, if any, people that Bill trusts, and he begrudgingly helps Joel out of his town. He’s a skilled marksman, and great at crafting traps. The trailer shows the role being played by Nick Offerman, who is no stranger to paranoid and odd characters thanks toParks and Recreationcharacter Ron Swanson.
5Riley
A brief look at Riley was shown in the trailer, played by the actor Storm Reid. Fans were able to spot the character thanks to the scene it displayed, in which Riley and Ellie ride on a merry-go-round at an abandoned shopping mall. It’s one of the many emotionally charged scenes in the game and shows the developing relationship between Riley and Ellie.
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The scene itself features fromThe Last of UsDLC,Left Behind, in which fans are shown what happens to Ellie before the events of the first game. Storm Reid has quite the acclaim with roles like Gia Bennett fromEuphoria, so her acting chops will come in handy for the emotional story ofThe Last of Us.
4Marlene
There’s a character inThe Last of Ustrailer holding her bleeding stomach. It doesn’t take long for fans of the game to look at the character, her clothing, and her face to recognize that it’s Merle Dandridge. This actress played Marlene in the video game version ofThe Last of Usand returns to play the same character in the HBO series.
Merle Dandridge is the only actress to reprise her role for the live-action show, and it will be interesting to see if she adds new aspects to the character, considering she is bound to have more screen time in the show than she does for the game.
3Sarah
As one of the more tragic aspects of the game, Sarah is introduced to players on outbreak day, in which they experience Joel, Tommy, and Sarah’s escape from their home to avoid the growing numbers of the infected. Sarah is a young girl, and she is shown in the trailer as played by Nico Parker.
The scenes involving Sarah and Joel are emotionally charged, and despite a brief chapter, they have a great relationship as father and daughter. It will begut-wrenching, but powerfulto see how Pascal and Parker interact as a father and daughter duo.
2Tommy
As the little brother to Joel, Tommy sure has his differences. He’s far more morally conscious than his older brother, and hopeful for a better future in a world overrun with infected and hunters. Gabriel Luna will bring Tommy to live-action in HBO’sThe Last of Us, an actor no stranger to beloved franchises.
Gabriel Luna has played a terminator inTerminator: Dark Fate, and even joined the cast of Marvel’sAgents of S.H.I.E.L.D.to play Robbie Reyes’ Ghost Rider. There’s a lot of baggage in Tommy’s character, and hopefully, his history with Joel is explored further thanthe game’s time skip.
1Kathleen
There are plenty of new characters set to be introduced in HBO’sThe Last of Usthat were not in the games. These characters could serve to furtherflesh out the story of the games, as Joel and Ellie venture across America in a few seasonal skips, meaning there is a story to be told between the times that audiences see.
One of these characters is called Kathleen. Little is known about Kathleen, other than the fact that she features in more than one episode, and is played by Melanie Lynskey. One of the few details known about this new character is that she is the ruthless leader of a revolutionary movement in Kansas City.
