New AI-generated images have surfaced that reimagines the cast of HBO’s The Last of Us series with an entirely different ensemble. Whether you’re embittered by the Pascal/Ramsey pairing, you’re indifferent, or you really don’t mind, IMDb took the liberty of compiling a fan cast of its own, helping us to picture how HBO’s hit show could have looked had the producers reached out to potential actors hand-picked by the fans.
Rather than HBO’s own choices of Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Anna Torv and Nick Offerman, IMDb casts Hugh Jackman in the role of Joel, while Ellie is played by Kaitlyn Dever, the late Annie Wersching portrays Tess, and W. Earl Brown is Bill. Bonus: the AI also envisions how Maisie Williams would look in the role of Ellie since she met with producers to discuss the part before it was ultimately given to Ramsey.
Hugh Jackman takes the lead as Joel in the images, created by Japanese casino 6takarakuji via Deep Dream Generator. IMDb’s The Last of Us cast was voted for by fans, who unanimously agreed that Jackman would make a fitting replacement for Pascal as the rugged smuggler. Fans pointed out that Jackman fit the age range for the supposedly 56-year-old character (in the 2023 timeline) — also mentioning that he’d played a similar role in Logan (2017). However, many fans might argue that there’s no better Joel than Pedro Pascal, especially after seeing first-hand what he can do.
Other actors considered by fans to take on the role of Joel Miller included Josh Brolin (Deadpool, Avengers: Infinity War, No Country for Old Men) and Gerard Butler (300, The Phantom of the Opera). There wasn’t so much of a clear frontrunner for casting Ellie Williams. Fans were divided between Booksmart’s Kaitlyn Dever and Game of Thrones’ Maisie Williams. There were some complaints about Ramsey’s (19) casting that she was too old to portray Ellie, but although Kaitlyn is also considerably older than Ellie (14) at 26 years old, the AI has seemingly aged her down somewhat, making her more suited to the storyline. It’s also opted to make her hair notably redder than in the TV show, which one can assume draws inspiration from the video game series instead.
Although Maisie Williams (25) is also allegedly too old to portray Ellie, the AI still imagined what she’d look like in that role — with much shorter hair than what we’re used to.
In fact, Maisie was reportedly in talks to play Ellie when The Last of Us TV series was first conceived in 2014 when she was just 15 at the time. Speaking with Flicks and the City on whether she’d been keen to play the part, she said: “There’s no script, no director, it’s still very early days for the whole project, but if it all goes ahead soon enough I think, yeah, I would love to.”
Ultimately, Ramsey snagged the role from Williams’ grasp, which is a real shame, especially since Maisie and Ellie share the same last name. Regardless, the AI gave us an impression of what Maisie Williams would look like as Ellie.
Main characters aside, the AI also imagined how a handful of side characters would look had their actual actor/actress not been chosen in favor of someone else. Some actresses put forward for Tess Servopoulos included Keri Russell (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) and Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix). But fans were in total agreement with this one. It’s The Last of Us voice and mo-cap actress — known as ‘original Tess’ — Annie Wersching that’s reimagined in the role, which was actually played by Anna Torv.
Wersching’s version looks incredibly fresh-faced in spite of a post-apocalyptic world, plus the AI has opted to generate a reddish tinge in her hair, similar to Kaitlyn Dever’s Ellie.
Sadly, Annie Wersching passed away at the end of January from complications caused by cancer.
Closing out the reimagined The Last of Us characters is W. Earl Brown of Deadwood and Preacher fame as fan-favorite Bill, who’s expertly portrayed by Nick Offerman in the HBO series.
The third episode of the series, “Long, Long Time,” focuses on the tale of Bill, who lives a reclusive life after his town is evacuated. Some years later, he stumbles upon Frank, with whom he forms a romantic relationship.
Other fan picks for Bill were Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead, Army of Darkness) and Mark Boone Junior (Batman Begins, 30 Days of Night, 2 Fast 2 Furious).
There’s no Bill without Frank, but according to IMDb, fans had no strong feelings about who’d be best to take on his role — meaning HBO’s original pick, Murray Bartlett, has no competition.
Speaking on the images, 6takarakuji said:
“The most interesting thing about this art is that it proposes a new application for AI, as casting directors could use generated images as a basis for selecting their ideal cast – particularly for characters in a game-to-film adaptation. Part of the success of The Last of Us series is that the cast is amazing, even despite the initial backlash. However, it’s fun to see what fan casts look like ‘in real life’ nonetheless.”
The fan cast was originally provided for the rumored Sam Raimi-directed The Last of Us film adaptation, which was later scrapped in favor of a TV series. Said TV series went on to break records as HBO’s second-largest debut for an original series since 2010’s Boardwalk Empire.