Last night, a social media post prompted speculation that Storm Reid (The Suicide Squad, Euphoria) had joined the cast of HBO's The Last of Us adaptation, and it's now been made official.
Reid herself took to Twitter to share the news, giving fans a first glimpse of some concept art featuring her character in the process. This version of Riley is described as "an orphan girl growing up in post-apocalyptic Boston," according to EW.
Spoilers for the game and possible spoilers for the series ahead.
Though Riley gets a mention in the first game, she only appears in the Left Behind DCL, which means the upcoming series will most likely include flashbacks to Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) time with the Fireflies. In Left Behind, we find out that the girls were best friends who wound up being infected at the same time. Ellie's immunity saved her, but Riley wasn't so lucky.
Reid and Ramsey join Pedro Pascal as Joel, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Nick Offerman as Bill, and Nico Parker as Joel's daughter Sarah.
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.
The first season will consist of 10 episodes and is expected to air sometime this year, though no official premiere date has been announced.