The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal and Game Of Thrones actress Bella Ramsey have been cast in the forthcoming HBO television adaptation of popular game franchise, The Last Of Us.

• Read More: The Last Of Us Part II is a masterclass in character assassination – and that’s a good thing

The series, which was greenlit towards the end of last year, will star Pascal as Joel, a smuggler who is given the task of escorting 14-year-old Ellie, played by Ramsey, across a post-apocalyptic United States while fighting off hordes of zombies, as Deadline reports.

While Pascal also starred in Game Of Thrones, he and Ramsey were never on the series at the same time. Pascal, who played Oberyn Martell, last appeared in the fourth season and Ramsey, who played Lyanna Mormont, didn’t appear until the fifth season.

HBO, Sony Pictures TV, PlayStation Productions, Word Games and game developer Naughty Dog are the five teams coming together to produce the adaptation.

The series is being written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin alongside the original game’s director Neil Druckmann, with Carolyn Strauss – who worked on both Game Of Thrones and Chernobyl – to produce.

Last month, it was revealed that the pilot of the series will be directed by Russian filmmaker Kantemir Balagov, who is behind films like Closeness and Beanpole, both of which won awards at the 2017 and 2019 Cannes Film Festival, respectively.

The sequel to the franchise’s original game, The Last Of Us Part II, was released last year after a few delays. In a review of the highly-anticipated game, NME‘s Jordan Oloman wrote, “The Last Of Us Part II is a purposefully challenging game that spans the entire emotional spectrum, one that will force you to reconsider your preconceived ideas about the beloved original.” The game also landed the top spot in NME‘s list for the 20 best games of 2020.

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