The Last Of Us is once again in the spotlight after the reveal of the PS5 remake. But that's not everything that was revealed recently, as Naughty Dog co-president and series creator Neil Druckmann shared a few more bits of information on the upcoming TV adaptation from HBO.
the last of us screenshot
As reported by DualShockers, Druckmann brought out Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker on the Summer Game Fest stage to reveal that the two actors also have roles in the upcoming The Last Of Us TV series. For the unaware, Johnson served as the original voice of Ellie, and Baker was the voice actor for Joel - both of them also provided the motion capture performances.
Druckmann also said that Johnson and Baker's roles in the show are more than just mere cameos. While he didn't exactly reveal what those roles are, long-time fans of the games must assume that they're going to play pivotal characters if they're not going to serve as human easter eggs.
HBO is heading The Last Of Us and will be rife with star power once it comes out. Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Narcos) will play Joel, while Bella Ramsey (Game Of Thrones) will inhabit the role of Ellie. They are joined by Anna Torv (Fringe) as fellow smuggler Tess, Gabriel Luna (Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Tommy, and Nico Parker (Dumbo) as Joel's daughter Sarah, among others.
But aside from the reveal of Johnson and Baker's involvement in the show, Naughty Dog also shared the official first look at Pascal's Joel and Ramsey's Ellie in the series. Here's the still, posted to Twitter by Druckmann himself:
Stoked to share this preview of @PedroPascal1 and @BellaRamsey as the live action Joel and Ellie 📺
It's been an honor to collaborate with @clmazin on #TheLastofUs coming soon to @HBO @hbomax . @PlayStation pic.twitter.com/rkfWIELNt3— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) June 9, 2022
According to IGN, the still is from a scene that the Naughty Dog co-president directed. It wasn't said which episode it was, though, making it unclear when during the timeline of the story the image was taken from. But it could very well be the first time that Joel and Ellie had to deal with Infected together.
To close things off, Druckmann promised that the HBO series will be "the most faithful video game adaptation to date" - something that disgruntled Halo fans might never hear from the Paramount+ series.
Read Also: The Last Of Us PS5 Remake Editions Detailed
More New Details About HBO's The Last Of Us TV Series
Initially, it was said that the TV show was scheduled to come next year. That's it. Neither Naughty Dog, Sony, or HBO gave even a vague release window, but that has changed with the recent Summer Game Fest announcements.
As reported by ComicBook.com, pilot episode director Kantemir Balagov finally gave a release window for the show to start with: "early next year." This is apparently based on Balagov's own understanding, and it could mean that a definitive release could be slated between January or March. Any later and it would be classified as a mid-2023 release, and not "early."
For now, the one big thing fans are waiting for aside from the series itself is an official trailer - something that's been noticeably absent since the show was first announced in March 2020. This is despite numerous leaked images straight from the set, which already gave fans their actual first look at Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie.
Related Article: 'The Last Of Us' TV Series Will 'Live Up' To The Games, Says Pedro Pascal
