Video games are now the most lucrative entertainment media on the planet, though it’s still odd to see them truly break out into mainstream media. HBO’s The Last of Us is currently leading the charge, with rave reviews, glowing word-of-mouth and no requirement to be familiar with the game resulting in a growing army of new fans who might not ever dream of picking up a controller.
This popularity has led to some weird things, perhaps none more so than this tease for the next SNL. Star Pedro Pascal will host, and it seems he’s brought some friends along:
Cards on the table, we’re not quite sure how to process seeing one of video games’ most terrifying creations twerking on the SNL set. Does this cheapen their impact in the show and game? Perhaps, though, if anything this is even more horrifying than watching them hunt down Joel, Ellie, and Tess in that traumatizing museum scene.
Pascal himself looks to be bigger than ever in 2023. Not only do we have the remaining episodes of The Last of Us, but come March, he’ll return as Din Djarin in the hotly anticipated third season of The Mandalorian on Disney Plus. Beyond that, he’s appearing in Pedro Almodóvar’s western Strange Way of Life opposite Ethan Hawke and the 1960s drama Freaky Tales.
But, as of today, his next appearance will see him shaking his butt in time with a deformed abomination on SNL on Feb. 4. What a time to be alive.
The Last of Us airs Sundays on HBO.
