Terminator: Dark Fate actor Gabriel Luna is the latest actor to join HBO’s adaptation of The Last of Us, according to Variety. The series stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, respectively, with Luna being cast as Tommy, the younger brother of Joel.
In Naughty Dog’s video game series, a fungal infection turns humans into aggressive zombie-like creatures known as the Infected. After an intro that features both Joel and Tommy, the game jumps forward twenty years, where survivors live in quarantined zones. Fighting back against this military oppression throughout the United States are the Fireflies, a militia group that is searching for a cure to the infection. Since much of The Last of Us’ story centers around Joel trying to bring Ellie to a group of Fireflies, this pair spends a large chunk of the first game traversing the country to find Tommy, who is a former Firefly.
While it’s not clear exactly how closely HBO’s The Last of Us will stick with the story of the games, Tommy is an integral part of both The Last of Us and last year’s sequel, The Last of Us Part II. Neil Druckman, the writer and creative director of The Last of Us game, has said that the series will follow the story of the first game, however, there are parts where the story will “deviate greatly” from the events of the game.
Luna is probably best known as the Rev-9 android in 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, and as Robbie Reyes / Ghost Rider in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Luna has also appeared in Richard Linklater’s Bernie, the first season of True Detective, and was the star of the El Rey series, Matador.
Craig Mazin, who created HBO’s Chernobyl, will be writing and executive producing the series along with Druckmann. The pilot episode is being directed by Kantemir Balagov, who previously directed the bleak Russian film, Beanpole.
While it’s unclear when The Last of Us will premiere on HBO, filming is scheduled to begin this July, and won’t wrap until June of 2022.