HBO and PlayStation Productions' TV adaptation of The Last of Us has recruited another actor, this time for the role of Tommy. Joel's younger brother will be played by Gabriel Luna, who is best known for his work in Terminator: Dark Fate and Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. He is, of course, joined by Pedro Pascal as Joel himself alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie. It was the Variety outlet that initially broke the news, then confirmed by Naughty Dog a short time later.
Gabriel Luna shared his initial thoughts on being recruited for the show on Twitter, saying: "Proud to join Craig Mazin, Neil Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss and the folks at HBO on The Last of Us. I have so much love for the work done by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey and I’m excited to go on this adventure with them as Tommy." Naughty Dog also welcomed the news on the social media site, as seen below.
Besides these casting additions, we know that The Last of Us starts shooting in July and will wrap 11 months later at the start of June 2022. The TV series will cover the entirety of the first game, but it shall deviate in places. Last month, Neil Druckmann said: "Things sometimes stay pretty close. It’s funny to see my dialogue there from the games in HBO scripts. And sometimes they deviate greatly to much better effect because we are dealing with a different medium. Some of my favourite episodes so far have deviated greatly from the story, and I can’t wait for people to see them."
However, despite those changes, Druckmann insisted that "the philosophical underpinnings of the story" will be retained for the TV adaptation. Do you think Gabriel Luna is a good addition to the cast? Let us know in the comments below.
[source variety.com]
Comments 38
This guy was brilliant in agents of shield. I absolutely loved his ghost rider!
Just a quick suggestion: As someone who doesn't know who this man is and hasn't seen anything you have listed that he has starred in, it would've been nice to at least see a photo of the actor just to get some reference to what Tommy may look like in the show.
@DarthAmmii This is him as Ghost Rider https://i.ibb.co/R4Hs4HP/image.png
While not necessarily resembling Tommy from the game, I can see him easily passing as Pedro Pascal's brother so I guess it should work
@DarthAmmii That's fair. The problem is that copyright laws get a little muddy when it comes to that sort of stuff, so we tend to play it safe. I hear what you're saying though.
El Last of Us
Meh. He was decent on Agents of Shield as Ghost Rider, but nothing special
@Octane 🤣🤣
@Octane right wing Internet hasn't caught on yet, shush.
@Richnj ohhhh yes they have, just take a look at IGN - the community thinks it stands for Internet Gaming Nazis
@2cents Jesus. It's been a long time since I've been IGN's way, but had to check that out. Reminds me of the reasons I stop visiting that site.
I eagerly await the endless YouTube video essays on why Joel and Tommy aren't Mexican names, memes, and the subsequent review bombing.
Won't judge it to harshly until I've seen it but I'm not to keen on this casting nor the casting of Ellie, But I will happy to be proved wrong.
He was utterly brilliant in Terminator Dark Fate. Definitely the closest since Robert Patrick to really resemble an actual machine.
Juan y Tomás en "Los ultimos de nosotros"
@Richnj The funny part is that Luna is actually from Austin (like the Millers) and Pascal, while not born there, was raised in San Antonio, TX
I'm not sure why wanting characters to look the way you've grown to know them equals racism but like, okay I guess. I'd also be disappointed if they cast DJ Qualls and Jay Burachel as the Millers but certainly not for race reasons.
Fair point about both actors kinda being from Texas though. I guess that's worth something.
@zupertramp I think Pedro looks a lot like Joel. Not so much in Luna’s case but still... I mean DJ Qualls would be quite a deviation for sure. But honestly, a slight deviation wouldn’t draw any jeers if the deviation were still white. Not pointing any fingers at you. But you know how it goes.
@AhmadSumadi No I get it, there's certainly a bigoted element to this kind of casting, idk, backlash or whatever but I mean it's a little disheartening when you're lumped in with a certain group for loving a story and wanting that world, and its characters, to be faithfully adapted.
Pascal doesn't come off particularly gruff imo but in any case it's clear from this news they aren't actually trying for Miller brother lookalikes anyway. Just a random change for literally no reason.
It's like making the main character of The Beach American in the film when he's actually British in the book. It's like, but why tho?
@zupertramp yeah I get it. People said the whole race thing about Michael B. Jordan backlash as Human Torch but I agreed that it was bad and unnecessary. And I definitely understand why you’d be frustrated with being lumped in.
@zupertramp To my eyes, Pedro looks far more like Joel than Bella looks like Ellie, yet it seems to be the accuracy of the Millers people are super concerned about.
It's hard to claim that racism isn't a driving factor in the backlash.
https://variety.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/pedro-pascal-bella-ramsey.jpg
@Richnj I mean, I hate the Ellie casting too so idk. But then they didn't arbitrary change her race so maybe that's why people are more vocal about Joel. I can't speak for others. I only know this ain't it for me.
It's worth noting some of what annoys me is it's hard not to feel like they simply chose Pascal because he's super "in" right now and that's it. Same with Tom Holland as Nathan Drake. Difference is I don't care about Uncharted so it bothers me much less.
@zupertramp "I only know this ain't it for me."
That's fine.
"But then they didn't arbitrary change her race"
"they simply chose Pascal because he's super "in" right now"
Ever think that they maybe changed Joel's race as a consequence of really wanting Pedro to lead their show, rather than changing his race first then choosing Pedro to fill it?
@Richnj Have I considered that? Well, it's basically what I'm saying happened. They wanted The Mandolorian and were willing to change the ethnicity of an entire family to achieve that. Not a particularly satisfying justification for altering the character.
Fwiw, my resistance to change and desire for consistency is probably more indicative of aspergers than it is racism. But at the end of the day I'm not going feel bad for wanting the series to be truer to the source material.
Do t get me wrong. and i know is a based series on the game but will be about joel,ellie and etc. But if they want put an mexican american as joels brother... i need ask why? I live this actors but serious theres better(more like the characters from the game.srry my english
Oww and last of us is my favorite game off all. But as i see gabriel will be more young than joel? I just want; just one time, a good series based on a game. Just that.is asking too much???
@ralphdibny Same here, getting really excited about the TV show now.
@DarthAmmii I agree here haha.. I was like... Um, so no photo included in the article? Thought it was the bald guy.
Anyway I see now after googling it
@zupertramp Changing your character's race because your main actor doesn't match the original race, is not arbitrary.
That's only good reason to change a character's race.
I'm not an expert in autism, but I'm not sure the Last of Us franchise is one that I'd consider safe for someone resistant to change and that desires consistency.
Are there any actors you think look enough like Joel, Tommy, and Ellie for you?
@KidBoruto should be good. I must admit that I'm yet to play either game but they have been in the pipeline for years! 😅
Whenever I pictured who would play Tommy, I alway had Josh Lee Holloway
He is the guy who played Sawyer in the series lost. For me that was a perfect fit
@Richnj agree to disagree on the arbitrary thing.
i think you're misunderstanding what triggers one's neurosis but I mean you're right in that no, it doesn't sound like the show is for me. I still have the games though so it's cool.
And it's not just about the look. Pascal just strikes me as someone who's never been in a fist fight in his life. Sure he makes a rugged voice in Star Wars but beyond that I'm not buying him as an embittered tough guy. To each their own though. I just don't find him that amazing.
So my list not having the luxury of a slew of headshots and the ability to have people come in and read: Josh Brolin, Hugh Jackman, Viggo Mortenson, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Tom Hardy (provided he doesn't do some weird voice), and Javier Bardem if it's some kind of Druckmann or studio directive that the cast must be more diverse than it already is in the games. Bardem can actually play mean and scary.
@Emperor_Rusty good call. Admittedly he's a little old now for the part but I assume with makeup and movie magic they could make it work.
@ralphdibny I've played the first game twice, not touching the 2nd game until there's a legit PS5 upgrade/version.
@Octane racism is funny? I see
@HMazzy111 you will be ok
@Taylorzombie What do you mean?
@Octane @DarthAmmii just a race baiting simpleton, ignore her.
@Octane you're joking right?
@starbuck2212 you lucky this is not youtube babe
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