That’s according to Variety, which reports Offerman will be taking over the role from Con O’Neill - who was forced to step away from the show as a result of a scheduling conflict - and will appear alongside Murray Bartlett as Frank. In The Last of Us’ original video game form, Frank had already left town by the time Bill encounters Joel and Ellie. However, Variety reports the pair will still be together, as two “post-pandemic survivalists living alone in their own isolated town”, as the show gets underway. Offerman will be joining a cast that includes Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as Joel and Bella Ramsey - who memorably played Lyanna Mormont in Game of Thrones - as Ellie. Naughty Dog shared a first in-costume look at the two protagonists in an official set photo back in September, and additional, albeit unofficial, set shots have surfaced since. Other confirmed cast members include Jeffrey Pierce (who previously played Joel’s brother Tommy in the Last of Us video games) as Perry, a rebel in a quarantine zone, while Gabriel Luna is set to portray Tommy. Nico Parker has been cast as Joel’s daughter Sarah, and Merle Dandridge reprises her video game role of Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies resistance. Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann is co-writing the HBO series - which he previously confirmed will “deviate greatly” from the game at times - alongside Chernobyl’s Craig Mazin and is serving as director on some episodes. Druckmann’s time on set in Alberta, Canada, came to an end November, which he revealed in a tweet thanking “the best TV crew in the world” for “your incredible work, your passion, and for making me feel so welcome!”. However, filming on the series - which reportedly “well exceeds the eight-figure per episode mark” - was previously confirmed to be ongoing for 12 months, meaning it should wrap in July next year. There’s still no word on when The Last of Us’ first ten-episode season will air, but hopefully it won’t be too long before HBO is ready to share more.
