The Dynamic of Joel and Ellie and The Last of Us Live Action Casting
(Please note that the following articles contains important plot point spoilers from both The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2.)
One of the most buzzed-about games of the last decade, The Last of Us has immersive gameplay, horrific enemies (both Infected and human), profound moral quandaries, and haunting landscapes. The beating heart and driving force of the story, however, is the relationship between Joel and Ellie.
What starts out as a relationship built on necessity and survival becomes something far greater. Let’s explore how they have grown from strangers to survivors to family throughout the series.
The Last of Us- Joel and Ellie’s Dynamic
As The Last of Us progresses, Joel becomes a parental figure to Ellie; this is all the more poignant given the fact that Joel tragically loses his daughter at the beginning of the first game and Ellie’s mother died shortly after giving birth to her.
The two survivors seem at first hardened by their respective losses and grief, their main focus being survival and the hope that Ellie’s immunity to the virus can be used to find a cure. As time passes and they face more trials together, Joel and Ellie become found family, regularly putting the well-being of one another before themselves and everything else. The love for and loyalty to one another becomes the force that drives them onward.
Throughout The Last of Us 2, players get to witness this relationship primarily from Ellie’s perspective after Joel is murdered in front of her as retribution for his decision to save Ellie’s life at all costs several years prior.
As players move Ellie forward on her mission for vengeance for her fallen father figure, they get to witness moments from the previous five years told in flashback between the first and second game. Some of them are painful, such as when Ellie learns that Joel chose her life over all of humanity by refusing to allow her to be sacrificed for a cure. Some of them are so beautiful they can hurt to behold knowing how things play out, such as Joel and Ellie’s excursion to an abandoned museum for her birthday.
Joel and Ellie work so well as characters because in spite of the extraordinary circumstances they find themselves in, they are flawed and therefore relatable. The love that they have for one another is both their greatest asset and their greatest vulnerability; it pushes them past their limits to fight on another day, and puts them into situations where no choice feels like the right one. Players have come to care deeply for Joel, Ellie, and their journeys, together and apart.
The Last of Us Live Action Casting
With that in mind, fans have been eagerly awaiting a casting announcement for the series, curious to see which actors would be selected to bring these characters to life. Recently, fans finally received an official announcement that Joel and Ellie had been cast, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey being selected to portray the two beloved survivors.
Pedro Pascal will be immediately familiar to many film and television fans, having recently been featured in multiple popular franchises such as Game of Thrones, Wonder Woman 1984, and The Mandalorian™.
Those familiar with these roles of his reacted with excitement upon learning that he would once again be playing a protective father figure of a particularly important young ward. Pascal has demonstrated incredible range and dedication in the roles he has taken on thus far, and many feel confident that this role will be no different.
Bella Ramsey most recently had a small role in His Dark Materials, portraying a resourceful and shrewd young girl named Angelica, surviving in an unforgiving world without her parents’ protection.
She is perhaps best known for portraying Lyanna Mormont in the later seasons of Game of Thrones, the precocious and courageous 10-year-old leader of House Mormont. Game of Thrones showrunners were so impressed by Ramsey’s spirited portrayal of Lyanna that they decided to expand her role, giving her more scenes and a more central role than they had initially intended. Ramsey stole every scene that she was in, bringing a boldness and assuredness far surpassing her years.
The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part 2 are two of the most powerful and emotionally challenging games to be released in recent years. With its compelling story, complex characters, and fascinating and frightening setting, The Last of Us making the leap from consoles to television seems only natural.
With no official release date announced for the HBO series, fans will have to keep their eyes open for more exciting announcements, watch some of Pascal and Ramsey’s previous projects, and enjoy the game and all the merchandise already available to tide them over.
Are you excited about the upcoming live action adaptation of The Last of Us? Let Your Geek Sideshow and tell us your thoughts in the comments!