Neil Druckmann, the creator and director of The Last of Us, explained why Pedro Pascal was chosen for Joel in the HBO adaptation rather than Troy Baker. In a conversation about the series with Buzzfeed, Druckmann said they decided against having the renowned voice actor return to the series because he didn't need to "look the part." He stated, "The special thing about video games is that you don't need to look the part. Because of this, Ashley Johnson, who is now 27, was able to play Ellie, a 14-year-old girl. Troy Baker was a tall, slender, bleached-haired hipster at the time, but when he talked and moved, he took on the character. Because of this, we were unable to cast those individuals in the corresponding parts for the television series, despite the fact that they were crucial to the development of those characters. The prospect of Baker appearing in the series is not entirely disregarded, though. Though Baker's precise involvement in the adaptation is still unknown, a trailer for The Last of Us in December 2022 indicated that he will feature in it. As reported by CBR, fans conjectured that he would either portray David, the preacher who leads a group of cannibals Ellie sees in the Winter chapter of the game, or one of his henchmen. Others are of the opinion that Baker will be portraying James, David's right-hand man, as Baker appears too young to play David.
Neil Druckmann, the creator and director of The Last of Us, explained why Pedro Pascal was chosen for Joel in the HBO adaptation rather than Troy Baker.
In a conversation about the series with Buzzfeed, Druckmann said they decided against having the renowned voice actor return to the series because he didn’t need to “look the part.”
He stated, “The special thing about video games is that you don’t need to look the part. Because of this, Ashley Johnson, who is now 27, was able to play Ellie, a 14-year-old girl. Troy Baker was a tall, slender, bleached-haired hipster at the time, but when he talked and moved, he took on the character.
Because of this, we were unable to cast those individuals in the corresponding parts for the television series, despite the fact that they were crucial to the development of those characters.
The prospect of Baker appearing in the series is not entirely disregarded, though. Though Baker’s precise involvement in the adaptation is still unknown, a trailer for The Last of Us in December 2022 indicated that he will feature in it.
As reported by CBR, fans conjectured that he would either portray David, the preacher who leads a group of cannibals Ellie sees in the Winter chapter of the game, or one of his henchmen. Others are of the opinion that Baker will be portraying James, David’s right-hand man, as Baker appears too young to play David.
