As production continues on the ten-episode first season of The Last of Us, it sounds like beloved Parks & Recreation star Nick Offerman has joined the cast of the upcoming HBO series, which has Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann writing the scripts and serving as co-showrunners.
Speaking with The Guardian, actor Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus; Iron Fist), who is set to play Frank in the series, may have inadvertently revealed Offerman's involvement. "It’s co-created by Craig Mazin, who did Chernobyl. The scripts he’s written blew my head off. It’s an epic show, but beautifully human and intimate. We filmed it in Calgary. A lot of my scenes are with Nick Offerman. Playing off him was awesome."
While Con O'Neill is expected to portray Frank's partner Bill, it's fair to wonder whether Offerman has been cast to replace him or whether he'll be playing an all-new original character.
Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian; Game of Thrones) and Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones; His Dark Materials) will headline the video game series adaptation as Joel and Ellie, respectively. Gabriel Luna (Terminator: Dark Fate; Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) is the only other series regular, playing Joel's brother Tommy.
Meanwhile, in recurring and guest roles, Merle Dandridge (The Flight Attendant; The Last of Us: Part II) will play Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce (Castle Rock; The Last of Us) will play Perry, Anna Torv (Mindhunter; Fringe) will play Tess, Nico Parker (Dumbo; Reminiscence) will play Sarah, Murray Bartlett (August; The White Lotus) will play Frank, and Con O'Neill (Chernobyl; The Batman) will play Bill.
The Last of Us is expected to debut sometime in 2022.