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'The Last Of Us' Star Thinks Josh Brolin Should Play Joel In HBO Show

Ewan Moore

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'The Last Of Us' Star Thinks Josh Brolin Should Play Joel In HBO Show

Featured Image Credit: Naughty Dog / FilmDistrict

With The Last Of Us Part II still fresh in our minds, I'm sure we're all thinking about HBO's upcoming live-action adaptation of the first game. Will it find ways to weave in characters from Part II early on? When will it air? Who will take on the iconic roles of Joel and Ellie?

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It's still early days for the project, so we just don't know much about it yet. However, we do know who Joel's in-game actor Troy Baker would choose to play the gruff Texan: Josh Brolin.

Sicario / Credit: Lionsgate
Sicario / Credit: Lionsgate

Brolin (Avengers: Endgame, Sicario, Deadpool 2) is a name that keeps coming up among fans when discussing who should play Joel in the show, and Baker couldn't agree more. Speaking to Collider, Baker described described Brolin as a "knockout" choice, although he's not sure if Brolin would do anything drastically different with Joel.

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"I think on its face, literally, Josh Brolin would be a knockout choice," he said. "But I don't know if I would walk away learning something different about Joel."

"I'm in a great position," he continued. "Because either A) Somebody steps into that role. And [I'll be] like, 'Damn, dude, I never thought about that, wow, what an interesting choice.' Or B) They suck, and people go, 'Only Troy can play Joel.' So either way I win."

Baker even revealed that he once pitched the character of Joel to Brolin over drinks one night, although he stopped short of sharing just how interested Brolin seemed by the idea. He said: "I was like, 'If you ever get the call for a character named Joel, I would be honored and I think you would be enriched to play that character.'"

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The Last of Us / Credit: Naughty Dog
The Last of Us / Credit: Naughty Dog

Whoever ends up playing Joel in HBO's The Last Of Us, it seems that Baker is ready to let the part go. He explained that after playing the character in two games over the course of seven years, it's time to let someone else have a go, to see if anything new and exciting can be done with the part.

"All I want out of Joel, I have done," he said. "I have taken Joel as far as I can take it. I did the same in part one. Same in part two. That was my job, was to move that character as far forward as I could. What I'm excited about is finding someone that can give me a completely different side of Joel, and show me how far that character can stretch."

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HBO's The Last Of Us is being written and produced by Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl showrunner Craig Mazin. While we wait for official news on casting, you can check out our top picks for the game's main characters right here. Whoever takes on Joel has seriously big shoes to fill, that's for sure.

Topics: The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog

Ewan Moore
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