Two famous faces–Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker–are joining the cast of HBO Max’s highly anticipated television adaptation of “The Last of Us” in new roles. Johnson and Baker are most known for their roles as Ellie and Joel in the Naughty Dog title “The Last of Us”. However, it has been established that they would not be reprising their original roles, leading to conjecture over which characters Johnson and Baker will now play.
“The Last of Us“ is a 2013 action-adventure game set in a post-apocalyptic America where a mutant Cordyceps fungus has turned humans into vicious, zombie-like creatures known as the Infected. Joel Miller is a smuggler tasked with keeping Ellie Williams, a teen girl who may hold the key to finding a cure for the fungus, safe on a cross-country adventure. The HBO Max version of “The Last of Us” is the network’s first video game adaptation, co-written and co-developed by Neil Druckmann (writer/director of The Last of Us game franchise) and Craig Mazin (creator of HBO miniseries Chernobyl).
Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker joined Neil Druckmann on stage at the recent Summer Game Fest to reveal their involvement in HBO’s “The Last of Us” series. Their roles in the post-apocalyptic TV drama are yet unknown, but the couple will play full-fledged characters rather than just cameos. Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker could play the following characters in HBO’s “The Last of Us”.
In HBO’s “The Last Of Us”, who does Ashley Johnson play?
Ashley Johnson might be Maria, Joel’s younger brother Tommy’s wife, assuming she is playing an existing video game character in the “Last of Us” TV version (played by Gabriel Luna). Johnson is older than Ellie, but he would be a good fit for the role of Maria. Despite the fact that Maria is a supporting character, Johnson’s superb live-action acting skills would be put to good use in the role. It’s also possible that Johnson may be portraying a brand-new character created specifically for the television series “The Last of Us”, which would be fascinating to witness.
In HBO’s “The Last Of Us”, who is Troy Baker?
In “The Last of Us”, Troy Baker might play David, the evil leader of a clan of cannibals. Baker would make an interesting villain on the part of David. Nolan North, who voiced David in the game and played protagonist Nathan Drake in Naughty Dog’s previous huge franchise, Uncharted, would be a brilliant meta Naughty Dog casting move. Baker, like Johnson, may be playing a different character, but watching him as a villain would be entertaining.
It’s a good sign for HBO’s “The Last Of Us” that Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker are on board. It’s nice that the game’s original creator is involved, but having the franchise’s two biggest stars play roles in the show is even better and serves as a further nod to the original source material. Johnson and Baker are sure to be a good addition to the live-action “The Last Of Us” series regardless of what roles they end up playing. They may not be reprising their iconic characters of Joel and Ellie, but Johnson and Baker are sure to be a good addition to the live-action “The Last Of Us” series regardless of what roles they end up playing.