Fan Fest News

News for Fans, By Fans!

Major Marvel Actor Nearly Played Joel in HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ Series – Here’s Who It Was!

For one of the most beloved video games in history, The Last of Us had originally planned to cast a drastically dissimilar artist for Joel. Through his powerful portrayal, the story was brought to life with such emotion that it became unforgettable – largely due to both lead characters’ performances. For ages, fans have yearned for a TV or movie adaptation of the popular franchise and tried to cast their dream actors as Joel and Ellie. Although various men with good beards were imagined for Joel’s role and countless brown-haired teens pictured as Ellie, few predicted Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey to take on these parts before they had been selected. Despite that fact, an even more unexpected actor was almost chosen to play the part of Joel!

When conversing with The Direct, actor Jeffrey Pierce (who plays Tommy in the video game and Perry on the TV series) articulated how he saw that it wouldn’t be him taking over as Tommy when they began casting for Joel’s role. Blade star Mahershala Ali was approached to take on Joel (which had been one of the discussed names before Pascal), prompting Pierce to accept that it would be incongruous for him to play his brother at this point.

Major Marvel Actor Nearly Played Joel in HBO's 'The Last of Us' Series - Here's Who It Was!

“Initially they had talked to Mahershala Ali about playing Joel, which is an obvious cue that I’m not gonna play Tommy,” says Pierce. “When they cast Pedro, I knew like, yeah, that was certainly not going to happen regardless. I’m older than Pedro Pascal. So I was not under harboring any illusions about that, for sure.”

It remains to be seen how much Mahershala Ali’s presence would have influenced the world of The Last of Us, but his distinction as a two-time Academy Award winner speaks for itself. His capability is unquestionable, yet Pedro Pascal has already engrossed millions with his captivating performance and will likely keep doing so in the forthcoming second season.

What do you think of the casting for The Last of Us? Let me know in the comments!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *