Fans of the video game franchise may rejoice as Naughty Dog, the developer head behindThe Last of Us, is largely connected to the development of the HBO series.The Last ofUs’creative director and writer Neil Druckmann is helming the project alongside Craig Mazin, whocreated HBO’sChernobylseries. In addition to the HBO live-action series, reports recently indicated that Sony’s massively popular franchise could also be receiving a contemporary remake of the original game, where more potential stories may be unearthed in tandem to maintaining the franchise’s excitement and longevity.
However, it is currently unclear whether the HBO television series is adapting the video game’s events exclusively or tapping into otherstories throughout the game’s mythologyalso. The television debut ofThe Last of Usmay purposely shed light upon the moments in the two-decade time jump that the original game chose to omit, such as Joel and Tess’s smuggling run exploits or Tommy’s initiation into the Fireflies. Although enthusiastic fans may not know what to expect explicitly ofThe Last of Us' live-action depiction, fans of the game will be treated to Dandridge’s familiar voice within the series.
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Following a gradual trickling of casting announcements, the HBO television series based upon the landmark action-adventure gameThe Last of Us,from developer Naughty Dog, has landed itself a familiar voice from the original game with Merle Dandridge set to reprise her role as a live-action iteration of Marlene.
Dandridge, who voice-acted and performed motion-capture for the character Marlene, appears as Marlene in bothThe Last of UsandThe Last of Us Part II.Marlene’s character was tied to integral moments in the beginning and end of the original game, having beenaffiliated as the leader of the Fireflies, a militant resistance group fighting back against oppressive quarantine zone regimes in the game’s post-apocalyptic environment. Players meet Dandridge’s character in a Boston quarantine zone, where Marlene tasks the player-protagonist Joel with escorting an immune, 14-year-old Ellie to seek a cure then towards the end of the game on much less cordial terms.
Merle Dandridge’s casting follows the casting of series leads Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie respectively, as well asGabriel Luna as Joel’s brother, Tommy, who becomes a Firefly during the two-decade time lapse between the game’s opening prologue and the game’s present day setting. For many, featuring Marlene inThe Last of Us' HBO series represents a paramount inclusion if the showrunners are attempting to employ the same empathy that renders the conclusion of the game a controversial, moral dilemma. Marlene is ultimately the character who sets Joel onto his journey to becoming in-touch with his feelings and sense of intimacy again, and she is also the character who must attempt to strip that hope away from him in the game’s end.
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