HBO has in the works a TV series based on the hit video gameThe Last of UswithPedro PascalandBella Ramseystarring in the lead roles. Directly inspired by the storyline of the original video game, the series follows Pascal as Joel, a hardened survivor and smuggler-for-hire tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (Ramsey), across a mutant and marauder-filled wasteland. Filming previously wrapped on the series and it is expected to arrive on HBO in 2023.
In a new interview withUSA Today, Ramsey opened up on playing Ellie inThe Last of Us. She revealed that she has not played the original game, and this was at the behest of the show’s producers. Ramsey also commented on the year-long shoot for the series and shared what Pascal told her in a note he’d given her after filming.
“I was actually encouraged not to (play the video game). After my first audition, they asked me, ‘Have you played it?’ And I said ‘nope,’ and they said, ‘Keep it that way.’ (Laughs.) I did watch some of the gameplay on YouTube just to get a sense of it. But I’m so excited for it to come out – it was such a big part of my life. I shot for a whole year, which is quite a long time when you’ve only lived for 19 years. Pedro wrote a little card to me at the end, saying, ‘How interesting that something so huge and life-changing should happen so early in your life and so late in mine.’ I thought it was a really sweet observation and I just had the best time.”
Related:Will The Last of Us Cement Pedro Pascal’s Screen Status as the Ultimate Single Dad?
The Last of Us Hasn’t Prepared Bella Ramsey for a Real-Life Apocalypse
She might be playing an apocalypse survivor in a fictional TV show based on a video game, but Bella Ramsey doesn’t consider herself valuable in the event of a real-life apocalypse. When asked about potential survival tips, the actress had this to say.
“I have zero survival strategies. I would probably just dig myself a hole, crawl into it with my best friend and cry.”
But that’s not what will happen to Ramsey’s Ellie inThe Last of Us, as seen in the teaser trailer recently released by HBO. You can take a peek at that teaser for an early look at Ramsey and Pedro Pascal in the series before it arrives on HBO in 2023.
