The Last of Us Creator Details Joel's Painful Changes for the HBO Series

By Nathaniel Brail

HBO is getting ready to release their live-action adaptation of the hit video game The Last of Us, and excitement is at an all-time high. Pedro Pascal will star as Joel alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie, but it seems that the series will take some liberties with the live action versions of their characters. During a recent interview creator Neil Druckmann revealed that while Pascal's version of the character will share some of the same traits as his video game counterpart, he will also receive some tragic new ones.

"We had a conversation about the toll Joel's life would have had on him physically," Druckmann told The New Yorker. "So, he's hard of hearing on one side because of a gunshot. His knees hurt every time he stands up. I guess there's a tone where Tom Cruise can do anything. But I like my middle-aged people middle-aged."

Craig Mazin, the Emmy-winning creator of HBO's Chernobyl, produced the series alongside Neil Druckmann, the creator behind the hit video game series. In an interview earlier this year, the writer said The Last of Us is the "greatest" video game story ever told. "It's an open-and-shut case: this is the greatest story that has ever been told in video games," Mazin said in an interview with Empire Magazine. "[Joel and Ellie] didn't shoot anything out of their eyeballs. They were just people. And that, in and of itself, is remarkably rare in games. The fact that they kept it so grounded, and really made you feel – I had never experienced anything like it, and I've been playing video games since 1977."

Joining Pascal (Joel) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie) include Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, and Elaine Miles as Florence. Original game stars Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, having played the part of Ellie and Joel in both video games, are also set to appear.

The Last of Us is set to arrive next month across HBO and HBO Max on January 15th. The show's first season is set to last nine episodes in total with new episodes rolling out on a weekly basis.

What do you think of what you've seen from the series so far? Let us know in the comments below or by hitting up our writer @NateBrail on Twitter!

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