Nick Offerman joins cast for HBO adaptation of The Last of Us video game
The Parks and Recreations star will play curmudgeon Bill from the original Last of Us in the live-action TV version.
Bill made his first and only appearance in The Last of Us (2013), and Nick Offerman (pictured here in Devs) will bring the character's curmudgeonly attitude to life.
Production on HBO's live-action adaptation of The Last of Us is still underway, but we've now gotten news that Nick Offerman has joined the cast. According to a report from Variety, Offerman will play Bill in the adaptation of the popular video game series. Bill's a scavenger who helps protagonists Joel and Ellie (played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, respectively) on their journey in a post-apocalyptic world.
The Last of Us video game series was created by famed developer Naughty Dog, and it's one of
Sony's
most popular games released on both the
PlayStation 3
and 4. The live-action show is headed up by Craig Mazin, who previously worked on HBO's Chernobyl mini-series. The show's debut season is currently in production, with shoots planned well into 2022. No release date for the series has been set yet.
Offerman will replace another actor previously cast in the role. Originally, Con O'Neill -- who appeared in Chernobyl -- was cast as Bill, but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. After the announcement of Offerman joining the cast, Mazin and O'Neill explained what happened and praised Offerman's casting on Twitter. "Nick Offerman is a superb choice," O'Neill tweeted.
It was truly an honour to be asked to play Bill and I was heartbroken that the dates clashed but the scripts are magnificent and @Nick_Offerman is a superb choice. Onwards x https://t.co/JcOh4chEme
— Con O'Neill (@cononeilluk) December 7, 2021
While Offerman rose to fame with his comedic roles on Parks and Recreations and 21 Jump Street, he's also shown his talents in dramatic roles. He appeared in the Colin Kaepernick biopic series Colin in Black & White as the athlete's father, and in FX's Devs, playing an enigmatic tech industry giant who created an advanced computer capable of predicting the future.
In recent months, Mazin and other creatives on the show have shared images and behind-the-scenes images from The Last of Us series. Neil Druckmann, one of the creators of the video game series, will even direct an episode of the first season.
