Kaitlyn Dever Auditioned for Ellie in ‘The Last of Us’ — When It Was a Movie
HBO’s prestige show of 2023 was almost released in an entirely different way, with a very different cast. The Last of Us was originally planned as an adaptation for film. The known choices for the major roles were different from the critically-acclaimed HBO series that viewers are enjoying now.
This second take on the adventures of protagonists Ellie Williams and Joel Miller — after the original video game — aimed to condense the story into just one film. Elated by the announcement of the upcoming movie, fans came up with a few popular choices for the leads. And they may have been closer to the mark than they realized.
Fans picked Kaitlyn Dever as an early favorite to play Ellie in ‘The Last of Us’
Actor Kaitlyn Dever was one of the top choices that fans of The Last of Us coalesced around after the zombie apocalypse film was announced in 2014. Dever is best known for teen comedy Booksmart and Netflix’s 2019 drama, Unbelievable. But The Mentalist and Modern Family guest star also had a six-year run on Justified.
Appearing on that pulpy, western-tinged crime series was a big part of the thinking behind pushing for Dever as Ellie. She was playing high schoolers as late as 2019, with her major motion picture breakout in Booksmart. Frankly, she just looked a lot like the version of the character seen in the game.
Fans pushed for others options too, in case Dever wasn’t interested, although she was the most popular option, BuzzFeed reports. Logan actor Dafne Keen had already demonstrated fierce energy in that film. It could’ve been a good match for some of Ellie’s exploits later in the story. At the time the film was being developed, Elle Fanning was a popular option for getting a marquee name in the role.
Was Kaitlyn Dever ever considered to play Ellie?
Dever’s chances to play Ellie weren’t just social media daydreaming among fans. She was actually a favorite and even auditioned for the role. Unfortunately, the long development period and eventual cancellation in favor of the HBO series meant the 26-year-old actor was no longer the right fit to play a 15-year-old Ellie.
Another finalist for the role was Maisie Williams. She was red-hot at the time, turning in star-making work as Arya Stark in Game of Thrones. She was a natural fit to keep the Ellie job locked down for the series, given her working relationship with HBO. But, like Dever, her age became an issue. At 25, the Pistol actor is a decade older than the character is meant to be.
Bella Ramsey’s performance as Ellie is winning over critics
The sought-after role of Ellie eventually went to a different person connected to Game of Thrones: Bella Ramsey. Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were blown away by her audition. Four episodes in, nearly everyone else agrees. But fans weren’t quite as enthusiastic at first.
Ramsey simply wasn’t as well known as some of the other choices. Her time on Game of Thrones was limited to just a few scenes, memorable as they were. She also has a look that’s a bit different from the game version of Ellie, which seemed to be the top priority of much of the fan casting.
That wariness faded quickly. Now, Forbes reports, fans are actually worried that Ramsey might be recast for the adaptation of The Last of Us Part 2. That older version of Ellie will likely be close to Ramsey’s real-life age. So hopefully we’ll have this version of the character for a few more years yet.
