HBO's highly-anticipated adaptation of Naughty Dog's best-selling The Last of Us video game is set to begin shooting later this year, and another key cast member has now been added to the ensemble. Deadline reports that Nico Parker, star of Disney's recent live-action Dumbo remake and daughter of Westworld actress Thandiwe Newton, will play Sarah Miller.
Sarah is Joel's (Pedro Pascal) daughter, and while she only appears very briefly in the first game, her memory drives Joel on his journey and informs his relationship with Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as the story progresses. There's a good chance the character will be given an expanded role in the series.
Merle Dandridge (The Night Shift, Sons of Anarchy, The Flight Attendant) is also on board as Marlene, the Firefly resistance movement leader she voiced in the games, while Terminator: Dark Fate actor Gabriel Luna will play Joel's brother Tommy.
The Last of Us is set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centers on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) and the game's creator Neil Druckmann are writing and executive producing the show. The first season will adapt the events of the original game, but is also expected to include elements of the sequel. Druckmann recently confirmed that the series will take some liberties with the story.
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