HBO just released a first-look photo of the live-action TV series adaptation of The Last of Us, and the image already has fans riled up.
It features actors Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) as their lead characters, Joel and Ellie. In it, the duo is kneeling in a dark room. It almost looks like they are hiding from something.
Set in a post-apocalyptic America, the series follows a smuggler (Pascal) tasked to safely deliver a young girl (Ramsey) out of a quarantined zone filled with cannibalistic creatures infected by a virus.
“Stoked to share this preview of [Pedro Pascal] and [Bella Ramsey] as the live-action Joel and Ellie,” co-creator Neil Druckmann tweeted. “It’s been an honor to collaborate with [co-creator Craig Mazin] on [The Last of Us] coming soon to [HBO and HBO Max].”
Pascal also tweeted out the first photo with the comment “Shhhhhhhh.” Why Joel and Ellie have stayed quiet is anyone’s guess at this point, but it’s probably safe to say that the duo is in danger.
Along with the first-look photo, Druckmann announced that Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker, the voice actors who played Joel and Ellie in the PlayStation video game, have been cast as different characters in the series.
The rest of the cast includes Merle Dandridge, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Jeffrey Pierce, Anna Torv, and Gabriel Luna, who plays Joel’s younger brother and a former soldier, Tommy.
Earlier this year, Pascal said he was having an “amazing” time shooting the series in Canada. “It’s totally harrowing, and I don’t know if we’ll make it,” he said. “But it will be completely worth it [if we don’t].”
The first season of The Last of Us is expected to premiere in 2023.