Original ‘The Last of Us’ star had an MCU favorite in mind for playing Joel in live-action

We’re about halfway through the first season of The Last of Us, as HBO Max continues to pump out episode after episode of content that looks destined for next year’s Emmys.

Indeed, not only does it stay faithful to its critically acclaimed source material while expanding on it in ways that only a television medium could, but even when it does stray from the familiar, well, let’s just say that the third episode won’t be leaving our memory anytime soon.

Though all of its pieces are pulling more than enough weight, there’s something extra special about the performances of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as leads Joel and Ellie, originally portrayed by Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, respectively. Pascal’s disgruntled-yet-gentle gravitas pairs perfectly with Ramsey’s expert handling of Ellie’s tongue-in-cheek sarcasm, and the chemistry between the two actors is always markedly palpable onscreen.

It’s hard to imagine anyone other than Pascal filling Joel’s shoes in particular, but Baker once had a fan-cast of his own for the character, and he just so happens to be one of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s top dogs.

In an interview with ComicBook’s The Last of Pods podcast, Baker revealed that Josh Brolin, who was responsible for portraying the one and only Thanos, had been his pick to bring Joel to life in live-action, noting the astounding similarities Brolin has with the character from the game.

“And what’s funny is that I think Josh Brolin would’ve been a great choice. I think that you look at the character, especially in the game, and you go, ‘Yeah, that maps, 100 percent. Josh Brolin playing that, sure.'”

He would go on to note the genius of the eventual casting of Pascal, though, citing how he not only has everything one could want out of Joel, but also offers the creative team a chance to be more flexible with the character.

“We have an opportunity to do things differently here,’ and the second that Neil said, ‘I think we got Pedro Pascal,’ I went, ‘Oh. Oh, my God, that’s perfect. It’s perfect,’ because first of all, he’s an incredibly talented actor, and secondly, everybody loves him.”

And the casting choice only proves to be a thing of perfection with every passing episode, and with yesterday’s installment giving us that landmark moment of Joel’s first laugh since the apocalypse, we can’t wait to see how Pascal continues to mark Joel’s growth.