HBO's Queer-Inclusive The Last of Us Series Has Found Its Stars

The much talked about, live-action TV series adaptation of Sony and Naughty Dog's popular Playstation video game series The Last of Us has finally found the leads to play the iconic duo of Joel and Ellie! 

According to reports from Deadline, HBO has tapped The Mandalorian star and vocal trans ally Pedro Pascal to play protagonist, smuggler, and father figure Joel, with up-and-comer Bella Ramsey set to lead alongside him as the lesbian teenager Ellie! 

The two Game of Thrones alum will be uniting to tell the story of a post-apocalyptic America where people are trying to survive after a deadly infection decimates most of the population. The first installment of the video game series was released to critical acclaim and commercial success back in 2013, and while Ellie's queerness was only briefly mentioned/confirmed in extra, downloadable content, as our sister publication Out points out, Ellie's sexuality was a main point in the storyline for the game's sequel, which came out just last year. 

Though some of it's LGBTQ+ storylines are far from perfect (fans took particular issue with the way trans character Lev was portrayed, and the violence and trauma he was subjected to) it's nice to see more LGBTQ+ favorite media franchises getting the shine they deserve, and fans are excited AF about it! 

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No news has been announced just yet it comes to when production of the series will start or when we can expect it finally hit HBO, but considering all of the fanfare surrounding the video games, fans are definitely going to be waiting on the edge of their seats for more updates!