Ahead of its highly-anticipated debut this Sunday, HBO’s live-action series adaptation of The Last of Us has officially welcomed the addition of True Blood vet Rutina Wesley and revealed her role in the show. According to EW, Wesley is taking on the role of Maria, who is Tommy’s wife in Naughty Dog’s popular horror video game franchise.
Wesley is best known for her fan-favorite role as Tara Thornton on the True Blood series. She is also no stranger to the zombie genre, as she previously appeared in an episode of The Walking Dead in 2019.
Check out Rutina Wesley’s The Last of Us role in the photo below:
The Last of Us series will tackle the events of the first game with the possibility of additional content based on the sequel. The series is led by Game of Thrones alums Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie.
“The live-action series takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed,” reads the synopsis. “Joel and Ellie, a pair connected through the harshness of the world they live in, are forced to endure brutal circumstances and ruthless killers on a trek across a post-pandemic America.”
Joining Pascal and Ramsey are Gabriel Luna (Terminator: Dark Fate) as Tommy Miller, Nico Parker (Dumbo) as Joel’s daughter Sarah, Anna Torv (Mindhunter) as Tess, and Merle Dandridge (The Flight Attendant) as she reprises her role from the video games as Marlene, the leader of a resistance group known as the Fireflies. It also features Jeffrey Pierce (Bosch) as Perry, Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus) as Frank, Con O’Neill (Chernobyl) as Bill, and Storm Reid (Euphoria) as Riley.
The live-action series is executive produced and co-written by Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin and original game writer Neil Druckmann, who is also serving as one of the directors. It is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television in association with PlayStation Productions. Executive producers are Carolyn Strauss, Naughty Dog President Evan Wells, and PlayStation Productions’ Asad Qizilbash and Carter Swan.
