HBO announced in March 2020 that it planned to develop a live-action TV series adaptation of Naughty Dog’s hit 2013 video game The Last of Us. Now, one of the showrunners has confirmed who has been cast to play the main characters of Joel and Ellie.

The Last of Us is set to be the first TV series from PlayStation Productions, which plans to produce both shows and films from PlayStation’s catalogue. The series will be helmed by Craig Mazin, creator of the TV series Chernobyl, as well as Neil Druckmann, president of Naughty Dog Studios and director of The Last of Us game. Druckmann is who confirmed casting on 10 February 2021. 

Quote-tweeting reports from The Hollywood Reporter and Deadline Hollywood, Druckmann revealed Joel will be played by Pedro Pascal and Ellie will be played by Bella Ramsey. Pedro Pascal is most well known for his titular role in The Mandalorian, though he also played Oberyn Martell in Game of Thrones. Fans of Game of Thrones will also remember Ramsey, who played Lyanna Mormont. 

So, The Last of Us TV series will see Pascal tasked with escorting another youngling, but a teenage girl rather than Baby Yoda. The game is set 20 years after a devastating infection turns most of mankind into zombie-like creatures. Joel helps Ellie out of a quarantined Boston and eventually across the country in the hopes of finding a cure for the virus that’s wreaked havoc on society.

The game won multiple awards thanks to its heart-wrenching story, and its sequel, 2020’s The Last of Us II, was equally as successful. There’s no release date yet for the TV series, but it's set to premiere on HBO (and likely HBO Max) as early as this year.