The Last of Us: Pedro Pascal Cast as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie in HBO Series Adaptation

By: Dylan Lepore | @dylanslegos

Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as Joel and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones, Hilda) as Ellie in an HBO series adaptation of PlayStation's critically acclaimed exclusive, The Last Of Us.

The HBO series focuses on the events of Naughty Dog's 2013 hit and winner of 261 total Game of the Year awards, The Last of Us, an action-adventure game that sees Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a zombie-like post-apocalyptic United States.

The Last of Us will be written by Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us games' director and Naughty Dog Co-President and Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin.

"Neil Druckmann is without question the finest storyteller working in the video game medium, and The Last of Us is his magnum opus," Mazin said in a March 2020 statement to The Hollywood Reporter. "Getting a chance to adapt this breathtaking work of art has been a dream of mine for years, and I'm so honored to do it in partnership with Neil."

Drukmann said, "From the first time I sat down to talk with Craig I was equally blown away by his approach to narrative and his love and deep understanding of The Last of Us. With Chernobyl, Craig and HBO created a tense, harrowing, emotional masterpiece. I couldn't think of better partners to bring the story of The Last of Us to life as a television show."

Druckmann is also the executive producer alongside Naughty Dog Co-President Evan Well, PlayStation Productions Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan, and Cheryl Strauss, executive producer of Game of Thrones and Chernobyl.

The Last of Us Part II released June 2020; in our review, we called it a masterpiece, stating, "The Last of Us Part 2 is nothing I can say I have ever experienced before. It's emotionally complicated, dark, beautiful, scary, and real. Part 2 pushes the PS4 to its limits creating gameplay that's slick, immersive, and heart-pounding with a narrative that would make the toughest men cry. It fulfills every promise made in Part 1 and then some."

A release date for The Last of Us HBO series has not been announced yet.