A television series adaptation of the hit video gameThe Last of Usis in the works at HBO from franchise creative director Neil Druckmann andChernobylcreator Craig Mazin, andBooksmartstar Kaitlyn Dever is tossing her name in the hat to portray the live-action Ellie. Since the news of the upcoming series made headlines, fans of the game have bmeen debating potential casting choices for both of the series leads. One name that’s come up often as a suggestion for Ellie is Dever, and the fan support behind the idea has since made its way to the young actress herself.
Speaking with Collider in a recent interview,Kaitlyn Deveradmits she’s a big fan ofThe Last of Us. Though she adds she isn’t very good, Dever had this to say about her appreciation for the hit game and its touching story.
“Listen, I am a huge fan of the game, and I don’t know if a lot of people know that, but I’m saying it now; I am a huge fan of thatvideo game. I think it is a beautiful story. It’s just a wonderful narrative, and I fell in love with that game when it came out.”
Though Dever and Ellie look similar physically, there is an age discrepancy between the two of about a decade; Dever is 23 while the Ellie character is 14 in the game. Of course, creative licensing can always be used for the sake of theLast of Us TV series, and it wouldn’t be unusual to see producers making the character a few years older for the live-action version of the story. Still rather young, Dever can also plausibly portray a teenager as other twenty-somethings have been doing in movies and TV for decades.
For her part, Dever says she’s aware of thebuzz online about her playing the role, going on to make it clear she’d “absolutely love to” be a part ofThe Last of Usif given the opportunity. From the interview:
“I obviously have been seeing the Internet, and I’ve obviously been seeing a lot of that. Neil Druckmann, I worked with him onUncharted 4. I think he’s one of the smartest guys I’ve ever met, and one of the sweetest. And I’m not shutting it down, you know? I’m not shutting it down. I would absolutely love to do that. But I don’t know where it’s at yet. But I loveThe Last Of Us.”
Other names suggested by fans for the role of Ellie include Maisie Williams, Millie Bobby Brown, and Mckenna Grace. As for her traveling companion, Joel, Williams’Game of Thronesco-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau has already been imagined in the role in some interesting fan art. Other popular names fans want to see play Joel include Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Hugh Jackman, and Jon Bernthal. In the original video game, Ellie and Joel are voiced by Ashley Johnson and Troy Baker.
Aside from her role inBooksmart, Dever also appeared in the moviesBad Teacher,Short Term 12, andThem That Follow. On the small screen, Dever had recurring roles onJustified,Last Man Standing, and the Netflix miniseriesUnbelievable. Time will tell if she’ll be able to addThe Last of Usto her body of work as well, but it appears many fans of the game would be happy if so. This news comes to us fromCollider.
