HBO's The Last of Us is bringing back a familiar voice from the video game franchise.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Merle Dandridge, who provided the vocals and motion-capture performance of Marlene in both the 2013 game and its 2020 sequel, will reprise her role in the premium cable network's series. Marlene is the head of the Fireflies, a resistance movement that clashes with an oppressive military regime in a struggle for freedom.
Dandridge joins a cast that also includes Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) as Ellie, Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) as Joel and Gabriel Luna (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.) as Tommy. Kantemir Balagov will direct the series' pilot, while Jasmila Žbanić and Ali Abbasi will helm additional episodes. Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin and game creator Neil Druckmann are penning the scripts.
Released in 2013 by Naughty Dog, The Last of Us is a survival horror game set in an apocalyptic near future. After a disease turns most of humanity into zombie-like creatures, Joel, one of the few survivors, must protect a young girl named Ellie, who is immune to the mutation and may be able to provide a cure. It is one of the best-selling video games of all time, selling over 1.3 million copies in its first week. A sequel, The Last of Us Part II, released in the summer of 2020 to record sales, along with much fanfare and controversy.
Dandridge's other TV credits include The Flight Attendant, Greenleaf and The Night Shift. Her video game work includes Uncharted 4: A Thief's End and Half-Life 2.
The synopsis for the series reads,
Based on the critically acclaimed video game The Last of Us, developed by Naughty Dog exclusively for the PlayStation® platforms, the story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Written by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, HBO's The Last of Us is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and stars Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Pedro Pascal as Joel, Gabriel Luna as Tommy and Merle Dandridge as Marlene. Director Kantemir Balagov will be helming the series' pilot episode.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter