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Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
Some incredible news today for fans of Sony’s action-adventure video game franchise, The Last of Us!
In an exclusive report by The Illuminerdi’s Caitlin Tyrrell, actor Mahershala Ali has been offered the role of TLoU protagonist, Joel Miller, in HBO’s live-action adaptation series of the hit Naughty Dog story.
In the PlayStation series, Joel (Troy Baker) is a man during a post-apocalyptic world who tragically lost his biological daughter Sarah at the onset of the Cordyceps fungus outbreak. Twenty years later, he has become a full-fledged killer and is tasked with transporting a young girl named Ellie (Ashley Johnson) to an organized group called the Fireflies. Ultimately, Joel risks his own life to save hers and puts the fate of the whole world at stake. In this process, Joel and Ellie form a potent bond as adoptive father and daughter while facing human and transhuman evils.
Ali himself has won multiple awards as father figure Juan in Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight, including an Academy Award for “Best Supporting Actor.” He has appeared in iconic films such as Predators, Moonlight, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Alita: Battle Angel. He has also appeared in Season 1 of Netflix’s Luke Cage and Season 3 of HBO’s True Detective. Most recently, the actor has also been cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film adaptation of vampire hunter Blade.
This past summer, The Last of Us Part II was met with great critical responses with its humanist themes on LGBTQ+ representation, father-daughter relationships, and trauma. HBO then greenlit production on the television adaptation this past November, with Craig Mazin (Scary Movie 3, 4, Superhero Movie, The Hangover Part II, III, and Emmy Award-winning Chernobyl) writing and executively producing alongside Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann. Kantemir Balagov is set to direct the series pilot.
Are you excited to see this series? Whom do you suppose will be cast as Ellie? Let us know! For more HBO and action-related news and reviews, follow The Cinema Spot on Twitter (@TheCinemaSpot) and Instagram (@thecinemaspot_). We are also now on Facebook (TheCinemaSpotFB) for any old-timers!
Source: The Illuminerdi
Managing editor & film and television critic with a Bachelor's of Arts in English Literature with a Writing Minor from the University of Guam. Currently in graduate school completing a Master's in English Literature.
