Pedro Pascal, whom you can recognize as The Mandalorian himself, was cast as Joel in the HBO TV adaptation of The last of us, as first reported by Deadline. The cast was confirmed shortly after by The last of us creative director (and executive producer and program writer) Neil Druckmann.
Pascal’s confirmed cast comes just hours after the news that Bella Ramsey, who played fan favorite ruler Lyanna Mormont in The Game of Thrones, will play Ellie, Joel’s replacement daughter. (Pascal also played a role in The Game of Thrones – he played Oberyn Martell, Dorne’s Red Viper.) It also comes shortly after the news that Lucasfilm severed ties with one of Pascal’s co-stars in The Mandalorian, Gina Carano.
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The first game in The last of us the series focuses primarily on the relationship between Joel and Ellie, and it seems likely that the opening sequence of the series will keep the focus on the two characters as well. In addition to Pascal and Ramsey, the series already has some other notable talents on board – From Chernobyl Craig Mazin is set to be a writer and executive producer, and Kantemir Balagov, who directed the independent drama of World War II See all is set to direct the pilot episode.