Game of Thrones stars confirmed as Joel and Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us

Game of Thrones actors Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey have been cast as Joel and Ellie in HBO’s The Last of Us series, it’s been confirmed.

Pascal had previously appeared in HBO’s fantasy series as Oberyn Martell. More recently, he played the lead role in Disney+’s The Mandalorian. Ramsey is best known for her breakout role as Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones.

The appointment news comes via Deadline and The Hollywood Reporter, and confirmed by Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann. THR also confirmed a previous report that True Detective star Mahershala Ali had been in discussions to join the show, but a deal didn’t come to fruition.

Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin is co-writing and executive producing the Last of Us TV adaptation with Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, the creative director of the game series and the co-director of Uncharted 4.

Carolyn Strauss (Game of Thrones, Chernobyl) is also executive producing along with Naughty Dog president Evan Wells.

The adaptation will be the first television series from PlayStation Productions, a studio formed by Sony Interactive Entertainment to adapt its original game properties for film and TV.

It will cover the events of the original The Last of Us, which was released in 2013, and may include content based on The Last of Us Part 2, which launched in 2020.

Mazin announced in January that he was quitting Twitter amid intense interest in his work.

He said the main reason for doing so was that he’d developed an unhealthy relationship with the site, which he labelled an “addictive” platform.

However, he also said he’d struggled with fan attention surrounding his current projects, which could at times be “stifling”.

Sony is reportedly developing three movies and seven TV shows based on PlayStation games, including an Uncharted film starring Tom Holland, which was recently delayed to February 2022.