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Game of Thrones star Bella Ramsey has been cast as Ellie in HBO’s upcoming Last of Us TV show. Ramsey, who is 17 years old, played Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones, so she is reuniting with HBO once more for the video game adaptation. [Update: In another major piece of news for the show, Pedro Pascal has been cast as Joel.]
Neil Druckmann, the writer of the game and the TV show, confirmed the casting in a tweet following the story that broke with The Hollywood Reporter. “We’re absolutely thrilled to have Bella join the Last of Us family!” he wrote.
There was speculation online that Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali was offered the other lead role, Joel, but THR’s report said this is not true. The site said Ali did “circle” the project, but he never made a deal.
The Last of Us TV show was co-written by Druckmann and Craig Mazin, who previously worked with HBO on Chernobyl. Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) is directing the pilot, while HBO has ordered the show to series.
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, and Naughty Dog will co-produce.
“Craig and Neil are visionaries in a league of their own,” said Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming. “With them at the helm alongside the incomparable Carolyn Strauss, this series is sure to resonate with both die-hard fans of The Last Of Us games and newcomers to this genre-defining saga. “
Not much about the show is known, still. The series is expected to follow the events of the first game, with the possibility of also overlapping on content present in the game’s recent sequel. The adaptation is said to not invalidate or retcon the events in either games, but instead to “expand” on them.
