Two familiar voices have joined the cast of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation. According to an HBO press release, Ashley Johnson (Blindspot, The Legend of Vox Machina) and Troy Baker (Batman: The Long Halloween, Love, Death + Robots) who actually voiced the two leads in The Last of Us video game franchise, will appear as different characters in the TV series. Their casting was revealed by Naughty Dog Co-President Neil Druckmann (Uncharted, Uncharted: Eye of Indra) during today’s Summer Game Fest.
The two actors joined Druckmann on stage as he revealed a first-look image of the TV series’ Ellie and Joel, played by Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, His Dark Materials) and Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent). Based on the best-selling PlayStation video game franchise, The Last of Us is set twenty years after the fall of modern civilization. The United States is a warzone divided into factions where an infectious virus has ravaged mere humans into zombies. Pascal’s Joel has been tasked to accompany Ramsey’s Ellie cross country in a dier mission that could change the face of existence.
According to the press release, Ramsey and Pascal are joined by a stellar supporting cast including Gabriel Luna (Agents of SHIELD, Terminator: Dark Fate), Merle Dandridge (Truth Be Told, Greenleaf), Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus, Looking), Nick Offerman (Pam and Tommy, Parks and Recreation), Nico Parker (Dumbo, The Third Day), Anna Torv (Fringe, Secret City), and Jeffery Pierce (Stranger Within, The Foreigner).
In addition to the image reveal, Druckmann announced The Last of Us Part 1 will be a remake, restored from the ground up, specifically for the PlayStation 5. He also referenced fans could expect the long-rumored multiplayer game experience in the near future.
The Last of Us is co-created by Druckmann and Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, Borderlands), who also serve as executive producers, writers, and directors for the series. Additional directors include Ali Abbasi (Shelly, Holy Spider), Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole, Closeness), Peter Hoar (It’s A Sin, Heartlands), Liza Johnson (Elvis & Nixon, Return), Jeremy Webb (Mercy Street, Life Begins), and Jasmila Zbanic (On the Path, Quo Vadis, Aida?).
Naughty Dog will produce along with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and The Mighty Mint. Additional executive producers are Evan Wells (Jak 3, Crash Team Racing), Asad Qizilbash (Twisted Metal, Ghost of Tsushima), Carter Swan (Hollywood Gamble, Columbus Day), Rose Lam (Double Happiness, The Firm), and Carolyn Strauss (The Baby, Treme).
The Last of Us is set to wrap production this June.