Pedro Pascal, who stars as Joel in HBO’s upcoming The Last of Us TV show adaptation, had to seek approval from Disney’s Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni before taking on the role. Pascal told The Hollywood Reporter that not only were the two roles for rival production companies fairly similar – father figure escorting a child to safety – but they ran the risk of physically overlapping.
Favreau and Filoni were willing to work with him, however.
“Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni are creatively not limiting themselves to the way things are normally done,” Pascal said, likely referring to The Mandalorian’s upcoming third season. “We’ve improvised making myself available for whatever they need. I hesitate revealing anything because I don’t want any plot surprises to be spoiled.”
Pascal said he wanted the role so much that the thought of not getting it actually worried him. Not that the role was easy once he did land it. He told THR that, along with he and co-star Bella Ramsey facing waves of negative fan reactions, he had to contend with the awkwardness of getting to know a 17-year-old co-star and acting alongside just one person for roughly a year.
The result was, they believe, beneficial to the kind of relationship the pair were meant to have in the show, though.
Elsewhere in the interview, Naughty Dog creative director Neil Druckmann told THR that he and writer Craig Mazin have no plans to take the Game of Thrones route and explore brand-new stories. The Last of Us on HBO will only stick to the games – The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2 for now. Whether that will eventually include the rumored Last of Us Part 3 and the upcoming Last of Us multiplayer game remains to be seen.
Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF
