The video game adaptation of The Last of Us hit a high note this past summer at Comic Con when producer Sam Raimi and the games creative director, Neil Druckmann, who is writing the film, announced its development. When I heard the news, I was ecstatic; the right people working on one of the best character driven games of all time, it can’t miss. On top of that, Raimi mentioned that he had met with Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams to play Ellie, the young woman who navigates a post- viral pandemic world. There hasn’t been a lot said since then which has left many wondering the status of the ambition project.
Williams recently talked to IGN about that announcement and its development explaining that Sony and Screen Gems asked her to moderate the Comic Con panel:
"I was doing so much work for Thrones that I didn’t want to half-arse do it, so I said I’m not going to [moderate]. They said fine, but they’re gonna announce they had talks. So the way it was left is they want me to do it, and I want to do it. But there’s no script, no director, and no anything else. So at this moment, it’s looking like, ‘Yes,’ but it’s still such early days. If they make it in 30 years, they can’t have a 40-year-old Ellie. So at the moment, it’s looking good, and I’d love to do it. Hell yeah."
She also talked about learning more about the game and what Ashley Johnson, the voice of Ellie, thought of the casting idea:
"There was a whole thing that went on Twitter [of fans suggesting me for the role], I didn’t know a lot about [the game]. I Googled it. Ashley Johnson — who did Ellie’s voice — [fans] asked her what she thought of me and she said, ‘That’s pretty much my dream.’ I don’t follow her but I was silently stalking her wondering what she thought of all this."
You have to love that excitement and selfless restraint when it comes to promoting the movie; sure it would have been nice to see her at Comic Con, but as she said, it sounds like she would have been struggling to really hype it then. So now with no script, no director, and nothing but hope, we will continue to do just that.
Do you think Williams is a perfect choice for the role or do you have another suggestion?