It looks like The Last of Us will show us how well Ron Swanson fares in the Cordyceps post-apocalypse.
Actor Murray Bartlett briefly revealed Parks and Recreation star Nick Offerman will be involved in HBO's adaptation of the acclaimed PlayStation game during an interview with The Guardian. Describing his time on the series, Bartlett praised writer Craig Mazin's scripts for how they "blew [his] head off" and called The Last of Us "an epic show, but beautifully human and intimate." The actor continued, saying, "We filmed it in Calgary. A lot of my scenes are with Nick Offerman. Playing off him was awesome." Variety also confirmed Offerman replaced Con O'Neill in the role.
The identity of Offerman's character is currently unknown. Since Bartlett has been cast as Frank, the deceased partner of The Last of Us survivalist Bill, it's possible that the Parks and Recreation star will fit into their romantically implied relationship, which was alluded to throughout The Last of Us' Lincoln, MA, level. Furthermore, since Joel, Ellie and Bill discover Frank's deceased body at the end of Bill's level, this implies that Offerman's narrative will take place before the 2013 game's events occur.
Beyond Pedro Pascal's Joel and Bella Ramsey's Ellie, The Last of Us has cast multiple key characters from the first game's story. Behind-the-scene videos have shown the two actors filming scenes alongside Gabriel Luna as Joel's younger brother, Tommy, and both Anna Torv and Nico Partner are confirmed to play Joel's smuggling partner, Tess, and daughter Sarah, respectively.
Most notably, Merle Dandridge will reprise her role from The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II as Fireflies revolutionary leader Marlene, who initially tasked Joel and Tess with smuggling Ellie out of Boston. While Dandridge won't be the HBO show's only returning voice actor, she's currently the only one returning as the same character, with Tommy's former actor Jeffrey Pierce portraying a new individual named Pierce.
Offerman's next movie is Sing 2, reprising his voice role from the 2016 film as Rosita's (Reese Witherspoon)'s husband, Norman. He'll also have lead roles in both Hulu's Pam & Tommy miniseries and Amazon Prime's A League of Their Own reboot.
HBO's The Last of Us is set to release sometime in 2022.
Source: The Guardian, Variety