The Last of Us: Game of Thrones’ Bella Ramsey to star as Ellie

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

THR has reported that Bella Ramsey, who stole the show as Lyanna Mormont in HBO's Game of Thrones, is set to star as Ellie in the network's upcoming adaptation of Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed video-game The Last of Us. Ellie is 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 game takes place decades after a pandemic has radically changed civilization with infected humans running wild and survivors killing each other for food and supplies. The player takes control of Joel, a survivor who is hired to smuggle a 14 year-old girl, Ellie, across the United States.

You may have also seen rumours making the rounds earlier this week that Mahershala Ali (True Detective) had been offered the role of Joel, but THR notes that although the actor was circling the role at one point, a deal never came to fruition. The Last of Us TV series has been penned by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, who will also executive produce alongside Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann. The series was slated to reunite Craig Mazin with his Chernobyl director Johan Renck, but it was reported last month that Renck had been forced to drop out of the project due to a scheduling conflict and that he would be replaced by Kantemir Balagov as the director of the pilot. Balagov's most recent film was Beanpole, a drama that took place in Leningrad after World War II devastated the city and followed two young women searching for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.

Craig Mazin provided a small update on the state of the series last summer, which he said will enhance the original game rather than undo it.

I think fans of something worry that, when the property gets licensed to someone else, those people don't really understand it, or are going to change it. In this case, I'm doing it with the guy who did it, and so the changes that we're making are designed to fill things out and expand, not to undo, but rather to enhance.

Mazin added that he's huge fan of The Last of Us and that getting to tackle the project is a "dream come true," but he admits that it's somewhat intimidating when you factor in the rather intense emotions which the video-game franchise has generated. "We're creating anew and we're also reimagining what is already there to present a different format," Mazin said. "It's kind of a dream come true for me. I'm a little bit scared because a lot of emotions connected to this game are rather intense. I think I'm probably going to go hide in a bunker for a while because you can't make everyone happy!" With the casting of Bella Ramsey as Ellie, I would imagine that the reveal of which actor will be playing Joel won't be too far behind. Who would you like to see in the role?