The Last Of Us wowed gamers worldwide when it was first released last June for the PS3, impressing with its tense, bleak tone and cinematic narrative. Now, a feature film adaptation in the works over at Screen Gems, with Evil Dead filmmaker Sam Raimi producing and the game’s creative director/screenwriter Neil Druckmann involved, and there’s no bigger question on fans’ minds than which actors will take on the lead roles of Joel and Ellie, two survivors who band together to survive while travelling across the dangerous, post-apocalyptic ruins of the United States.
Today, at Comic-Con, Druckmann revealed that, though no one has been cast just yet, Maisie Williams, the young actress who plays Arya Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones, is in talks to take on the role of teenage Ellie. Williams has been a fan favorite choice for a while, and news that Druckmann and Raimi want her for the part elicited wild cheers from the packed Hall H audience. Williams is set to take the stage for a Game of Thrones panel later today, so we might hear something about this project from her side as well.
Whoever takes on the role of Ellie needs to be a strong dramatic actress capable of balancing the character’s traumas and defiant, tenacious warrior spirit. Williams, whose Game of Thrones character has been fending for herself since the penultimate episode of the show’s first season, has certainly proven she fits that criteria. Though my personal picks are still Chloë Grace Moretz or Isabelle Fuhrman, both of whom could bring the requisite depth in spades, I could definitely get behind Williams’ casting as well.
No word yet on who could be playing Joel in The Last of Us. Jeffrey Dean Morgan is my pick, but Dylan McDermott or Josh Brolin could also do right by the character. The Screen Gems panel is still under way, so more information about The Last of Us movie adaptation will likely be hitting the web very soon.