The Last Of Us Showrunners Definitely Don't Want To Recast Bella Ramsey's Ellie

HBO's The Last of Us concluded its first season last night, and by pretty much most metrics the show can be judged a success for all involved. From critical reaction, to audience discussion, and the consistently high viewership numbers, the live-action adaptation of one of gaming's most acclaimed entries represents a new watermark for Game-to-screen transitions. One major key to this has been the casting, and the showrunners are well aware of the fortune they've had in their choice of actors.

The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season, and the writers and showrunners are busy adapting the story from The Last of Us Part 2. The second Game, as players will know, tells a more complex story than the first one, while Ellie takes on a more active role. In the second Game, her character looks somewhat different as she's older and more grown up. This led to some speculation as to whether the role of Ellie could be recast for season two. But Neil Druckmann has definitively said they want to keep Bella Ramsey in the role going forward.

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At a press conference ahead of the season finale executive producer on the show, and Naughty Dog co-president, Neil Druckmann, said he and showrunner Craig Mazin are set on retaining the services of Ramsey for Season 2 (via IGN).

"When we made the Game, I felt we were incredibly lucky", Druckmann said. "It was like lightning in the bottle that we found Ashley Johnson. I can't imagine that version of Ellie being anybody else. And then somehow we got lightning in the bottle again with Bella.

"We are extremely lucky to have Bella and the stuff you saw throughout this entire season. The only way we would ever, ever consider recasting Bella is if she said, 'I don't want to work with you guys anymore'. Even then, I'm not sure we would grant her that. We might still force her to come back to Season 2".

Co-showrunner Mazin agreed with his colleague and pointed out that Ramsey is currently 19 years old, the same age that Ellie was in The Last of Us Part 2. Mazin also revealed that Season 2 may be substantially different from the Game at certain points. "Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it [won't] be fairly different at all, but it's going to be different. It will be its own thing. It won't be exactly like the Game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make, but we are making it with Bella".

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