Matthew McConaughey was long rumoured for The Last of Us series along with True Detective co-star Mahershala Ali. Now, it looks as though there was some truth to the rumour after all.
During an interview with Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin revealed McConaughey was once in the running for a starring role as Joel.
“I actually never talked to Mahershala,” he confirmed. “I did talk to Matthew. I wouldn’t say that it was serious, it was more of just like, ‘Hey, here’s something we can talk about.’ ”
The Last of Us stars Pedro Pascal as Joel, the iconic survivor of a zombie apocalypse whose story was pulled straight from Naughty Dog’s video game.
Tormented by the trauma of his past while tasked with smuggling a young girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) out of a quarantine zone, Joel is one of the most gripping characters in recent video game history.
Pascal is now synonymous with the role, but it almost didn’t happen. “Initially, Pedro was on our list from the start, but we were told that he was unavailable,” Mazin revealed. “And then, as we were kinda floundering around a little bit, I got a call from his agent who said, ‘You know, he actually might be available.’ ”
The rest is history. Mazin sent him a copy of the script and they had a chat the very next day. “We got on a Zoom and had what I think is the most wonderful Zoom I’ve ever had,” he revealed. “Just love at first sight.”
“I’m sure there’s a different universe where it’s another actor,” he added. “And look, Matthew McConaughey is an amazing actor. I’m sure it would have been great, but it would have been different. And I like the one that we made so what can I say?”
As for what’s next, it looks as though we’re in for a bit of a wait before The Last of Us Season 2 as Bella Ramsey revealed shooting won’t begin until the end of the this year at the earliest: “I think we’ll probably shoot at the end of this year, beginning of next. So, it’ll probably be at the end of 2024, early 2025.” Still, that doesn’t stop us from wondering what’s next in The Last of Us Season 2.
IGN’s The Last of Us review gave it 9/10 and said: “HBO’s The Last of Us is a breathtaking adaptation of one of the most impactful stories told in video games and brilliantly brings Joel and Ellie’s journey to a whole new audience. Taking the essence of what made the original tale so enduring, it builds out the world of the game while also switching up some aspects to almost entirely stunning effect.”
Want to read more about The Last of Us? Find out why Pedro Pascal hasn’t watched The Last of Us finale yet as well as which video game character is on their way in Season 2.
Ryan Leston is an entertainment journalist and film critic for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter.