The Last of Us TV show has an actor reprising their role from the game

The Last of Us
(Image credit: Naughty Dog)

An actor in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us will reprise their role for the HBO series.

As The Hollywood Reporter first reported yesterday on May 27, Merle Dandridge has been cast in HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us. Dandridge will portray Marlene, the leader of a resistance movement called The Fireflies, a role that the actor also took on in Naughty Dog's original game back in 2013.

For those unfamiliar, Marlene plays a crucial role early on in The Last of Us, essentially introducing Joel and Ellie to one another. Marlene subsequently hires Joel to smuggle Ellie out of a quarantine zone in Boston, and sets the pair on their way on a road trip across a post-apocalyptic America.

Dandridge joins a cast that's so far comprised of Pedro Pascal taking on the role of Joel, while Game of Thrones breakout Bella Ramsey steps into the role of Ellie. Last month in April, Gabriel Luna was added to the cast, set to portray Joel's brother Tommy.

Things are really picking up around The Last of Us TV show, which is actually due to begin shooting later this year in July. Recently, showrunner and former Chernobyl writer and creator Craig Mazin extended his deal with HBO by a total of three extra years, hinting at things looking up for HBO's highly anticipated adaptation.

We now know that the TV adaptation will sometimes "deviate greatly" from Naughty Dog's original game, as game director Neil Druckmann revealed earlier this year. Druckmann, who is collaborating with Mazin to write the script for the adaptation, then followed this comment up by saying that the HBO series would "re-interpret" certain parts of the game. Even if you know the ins and outs of the 2013 game from Naughty Dog, there'll still be new storytelling beats to enjoy.

For everything we know about another forthcoming adaptation of a Naughty Dog franchise, head over to our Uncharted movie guide for more.

Hirun Cryer

Hirun Cryer is a freelance reporter and writer with Gamesradar+ based out of U.K. After earning a degree in American History specializing in journalism, cinema, literature, and history, he stepped into the games writing world, with a focus on shooters, indie games, and RPGs, and has since been the recipient of the MCV 30 Under 30 award for 2021. In his spare time he freelances with other outlets around the industry, practices Japanese, and enjoys contemporary manga and anime.

Read more
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us season 2 creator says Abby looks different from the games because there's "not as much violent action" and that it's "more about the drama"
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says newcomer Kaitlyn Dever was "within The Last of Us DNA" before the show existed
Clicker and Ellie
The Last of Us season 2 trailer brings the heart and the horror back to Joel and Ellie
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
Abby star Kaitlyn Dever played the Last of Us games with her dad and has been a fan "for a very long time"
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last of Us
The Last of Us showrunner praises Abby actor's "physically tremendous" performance ahead of season 2: "We just haven't f**ked up in casting"
Latest in Horror Shows
Linda Cardellini as Laura Barton in Hawkeye
Linda Cardellini cast as Jason's mom, the original Friday the 13th killer, for Crystal Lake prequel series
The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2
First trailer for The Walking Dead: Dead City season 2 sees Maggie fight a bear, Hershel plot revenge, and Negan give Lucille a terrifying upgrade
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last Of Us season 2
The Last of Us showrunner says newcomer Kaitlyn Dever was "within The Last of Us DNA" before the show existed
Clicker and Ellie
The Last of Us season 2 trailer brings the heart and the horror back to Joel and Ellie
Rick and Michonne in The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live
The Walking Dead boss looks to squash hopes of The Ones Who Live season 2 – though that doesn't mean we won't ever see Rick and Michonne again
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
Latest in News
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"
Tomb Raider
5 years after Avengers, 2 years after its last layoffs, and who knows how long before Perfect Dark and Tomb Raider return, Crystal Dynamics announces another round of layoffs
AI Limit
"AI is not as effective as it might appear": Dev of AI-focused Soulslike RPG says they didn't use any AI-generated content and it can't match "genuine creativity"