The Last of Us’ HBO show premieres next month, and if potential fans do not know much about the games themselves, they may not know how closely it looks to translate the narrative and iconography from the games. It helps that HBO worked closely with inseparable team members at Naughty Dog as well as actors who worked on the games, and its essential themes still seem to be honored in that way. That said, the HBO show is not a one-to-one adaptation of The Last of Us, and there will seemingly be a lot of content that is omitted in the games.
Much more of David’s cannibalistic crew is shown in The Last of Us’ latest HBO trailer, for instance, and certain events look slightly different from what players may remember. One character, in particular, is omitted from The Last of Us’ games that many fans wished to know more about, such as Ellie’s mother, Anna. Anna is only brought up in some conversations as a friend of Marlene’s and through lore notes, but may be given a much bigger role in The Last of Us’ HBO show where she could potentially be played by Ellie’s Ashley Johnson.
Ashley Johnson is Potentially Playing Her Own The Last of Us Character’s Mother
It's confirmed that Johnson appears in The Last of Us' HBO series, but to what capacity is unknown. Several rumors online point to Ashley Johnson playing Ellie’s mother. This has not been confirmed by HBO or in any announcement since, but it seems fairly likely due to the inherent connection that Johnson would have with that character.
Of course, Johnson is known for her role as Ellie herself in The Last of Us and its sequel, giving the character a charming personality with quick-witted sarcasm and emotional baggage. Considerable implications seem to be made if Johnson is playing Anna, such as how much exposition from before the narrative of The Last of Us will be examined.
The Last of Us’ HBO Show Has Good Reasons for the Actors It Has Chosen
Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson are seminal as Joel and Ellie, but they do not look anything like their characters in real life. It would obviously be awkward to have Johnson play a fourteen-year-old girl, for example, and another actor needed to be considered regardless of how beloved and identifiable Johnson is as Ellie.
These are also considerations that would have needed to be made when actors were initially cast for The Last of Us more than a decade ago, and it is clear now that while some actors looked comparable to their characters, others would not. This is why it makes sense for Merle Dandridge and Anna Torv to reprise their roles as Marlene and Tess respectively. The show seems to honor the looks of most of its characters from the trailers that have been shared, and that would not have been possible if it stuck with The Last of Us’ original actors exclusively. But if Johnson cannot play Ellie for this reason, the next best-case scenario is that she plays Ellie’s mother.
If true, this would be much more suitable considering the age gap between herself and Ellie, but also allows her to play a pivotal role in Ellie’s life in The Last of Us’ HBO show. It will be interesting to see how large of a role Anna is given in the show considering how little players hear of her in the games, or if the role was only included to be able to give Johnson a significant part to play. Either way, Johnson would be a fantastic Anna, and fans will hopefully be able to see that come to fruition when the show airs in January.
The Last of Us premieres on HBO on January 15, 2023.