With the announcement that HBO is producing an adaptation of The Last of Us, Dylan and Ashley decided to do some fan-casting of their own.

DYLAN’S CAST

I’ve always had Joel Edgerton as my fan-cast to play Joel in any adaptation of The Last of Us. When I watched 2017’s It Comes at Night, I saw Edgerton creeping closer to how I’d have him performing/looking to play Joel and knew my fan-cast was on the right track. For my Ellie pick, I have Elsie Fisher—a very recent thought. I watched Eighth Grade not long ago and, seeing her fantastic performance in that movie, I know she could nail the teen angst necessary to play Ellie alongside the vulnerability. And then to round out the family as Tommy I’d have Joel Kinnaman because he can play a leader type and a strong man.

Playing the leader of the Fireflies, I want Regina King after her amazing and layered performance in Watchmen. I’d assume in this series we’d get more time with key characters, and Marlene would have to be one of them. The series could even open up the possibility of telling dual stories and not focusing solely on Joel and Ellie. Similarly, I’d expect to get more time with Tess, and Hannah John-Kamen has the hard-as-nails vibe to play that role well and bring something special to it. I’d also expect to get more time with Bill in the show since he’s a well-loved fan-favourite character from the game, and Jeffrey Wright has the warmth to bring to that character—as well as the ability to look dangerous and every bit the survivor.

With these two final roles, I’m not sure how much airtime they’d see in the adaptation. The opening level of The Last of Us is super-important and devastating, but it might work better in the show to save that reveal and moment until later. Either way, Sarah needs to be super-likable for the audience, as her death needs to be devastating. Julia Butters proved she has the acting chops to work alongside actors four times her age in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, and by the time they start shooting this series she’d be close enough to Sarah’s age in the game. Similarly, I have Marsai Martin down as Riley, who plays Ellie’s love interest in the Left Behind DLC. I think including this story in some form in the show is super-important to Ellie’s character, but I’m not sure where you’d place it; a random flashback seems like a bad way to tack it on. Either way, I think Martin has the charm to play Riley and would love to see her in the role. I’d expect David to get a much bigger role in the series as well. William Fichtner has the ability to appear super-likable but then turn and be easy to hate.

ASHLEY’S CAST

The Last of Us being adapted into a TV series is an exciting proposition. We have a string of failed big video-game films but not many memorable TV failures, although that may be mainly due to projects being stuck in development hell (*cough* Halo *cough*). The Last of Us seems like a no-brainer for TV with one of the most well-regarded game narratives ever and a format that will give it the proper time to breathe.

While there have been a lot of bigger-name actors bandied about on Twitter or in forums, my pick to play Joel would be Matthew Rhys. The Emmy winner is most well known for his lead performance in The Americans, but it was his part in A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood that brought him to mind. In that film he plays a jaded man who meets someone he is initially confrontational with before building an important relationship. Sound familiar? Sure, Ellie is no Mister Rogers, but I could definitely see Matthew Rhys bringing Joel’s journey to live action.

Elsie Fisher is my pick for Ellie. While she may not seem like the most obvious choice, I think she would bring the much-needed heart to the role. If you haven’t seen Eighth Grade, there’s a scene in a car that’s very hard to watch because you care for her character and don’t want anything bad to happen to her. That was in just ~90 minutes—imagine how much she could make you care over several episodes before encountering someone like David.

With The Last of Us coming to TV, we should expect expanded roles for the supporting cast. I could see them fleshing out the series with flashbacks or filling us in on what characters are doing before we meet them. The obvious case would be David and his gang. You’d only need a scene or two each episode, possibly building toward them finally reaching their breaking point before meeting Joel and Ellie. If done the way Mindhunter built up the BTK Strangler, it could be very effective. I think Lee Pace would be an interesting choice for David—generally a likable actor (when he isn’t in heavy makeup/CGI) but with the range to turn sinister.

For the roles of Tess and Marlene, I’ve picked Tatiana Maslany and Renée Elise Goldsberry. Despite being an Emmy winner and delivering multiple brilliant roles in Orphan Black, Hollywood hasn’t really come calling for Maslany. Tess would be a great platform to showcase how good she can be. If the show incorporates flashbacks, we could see more moments with her—how she met Joel and earlier. With Goldsberry, I’ll admit I may have been swayed by her Altered Carbon turn, but she’s a Tony winner with serious chops.

Emile Hirsch is an actor many thought would be a bigger star after Into the Wild and the incredibly underrated Speed Racer. After a small but noticeable role in Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, I think he has what it takes to make a good Tommy and use this as a step to bigger things. The role that made me think Rainn Wilson would make a good Bill is his part in Star Trek: Discovery as a young Harry Mudd—the look and energy fit perfectly, and I feel like he’d hit the role out of the park.

Riley is a character I’d expect only if the series implements flashbacks. Cutting back to her and Ellie would be interesting—their encounter is important for Ellie and would colour the narrative differently. I picked Amandla Stenberg, praised for The Hate U Give, and think she’d be a great fit.

Finally, Sarah. Let me just say what we’re all thinking: if this series does not open almost identically to the game, why are they even bothering? That first section is such a gut-punch and heartbreaking start that doing anything else would be blasphemous. I’ve picked Alyvia Alyn Lind from the short-lived Daybreak for Sarah—she’s got the sass we glimpse at the start of the game with Joel, but also made you care for her in that show even when she could be a bit abrasive. Again, I could see her with an expanded role via flashbacks with Joel or even Tommy, but if they can make her death just as effective on TV as it was in the game, we will know we’re set for good things.

Let us know who you’d cast in the comments below—or if you just straight-up hate some of our picks.