The Last of Us HBO Series Casts Game of Thrones Fan-Favorite as Ellie

HBO’s long-awaited TV adaptation of The Last of Us has officially found its Ellie. On Wednesday, The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Bella Ramsey, who is best known for her fan-favorite role as Lyanna Mormont on Game of Thrones, has been cast in the series as one of its main characters, Ellie. The series described Ellie as a 14-year-old orphan who has never known anything but a ravaged planet who struggles to balance her instinct for anger and defiance with her need for connection and belonging … as well as the newfound reality that she may be the key to saving the world.

The report also reveals that Mahershala Ali, who was rumored earlier today to be attached to the series’ other starring role of Joel, will not actually be playing the part after “a deal never came to fruition”.

The Last of Us is set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centers on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

The series will be executive produced and written by Craig Mazin, who created HBO’s Chernobyl. Neil Druckmann, the writer and creative director of the game, will also be executive producing. Druckmann already took to Twitter to confirm Ramsey’s casting, saying that he is “absolutely thrilled” to welcome her to the franchise’s family.

Reports earlier this year indicated that Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov will direct the pilot.

“The Last of Us, a gritty emotional journey, will be coming to HBO,” Jim Ryan, the President and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said earlier this year. “This is just the beginning of the expansion of our storytelling into new media and even wider audiences. Sony is a creative entertainment company, and entertainment has never been more important.”

“If you have played the game, our intention is that you will watch the show and say ‘this has violated nothing of what I loved about the game, and what I witnessed in the game, but it has also brought me a whole lot more – things I did not know, really amazing things’,” Mazin explained in an interview with Must Watch last year.

What do you think of Bella Ramsey being cast as Ellie in The Last of Us? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!