‘The Last Of Us’ Showrunner Reveals Matthew McConaughey Was Initially Being Considered For Pedro Pascal’s Role

HBO‘s “The Last Of Us” ratcheted up 24 Emmy nominations yesterday, coming second in total noms only to its HBO brethren “Succession.” Not a bad haul for a show’s first season. But despite all of that recognition, EW reports that showrunner Craig Mazin expects that Season 2 of his hit series will continue to “shock people” and polarize audiences.

HBO’s The Last Of Us is gearing up for what could be a very successful awards season. This TV adaptation of Naughty Dog’s former Game Of The Year Award winner has been a huge hit and it’s really showing. TLOU could have a nice clean sweep in a wide range of categories.

HBO had another great Emmy nomination morning with big hauls for series such as Succession, The Last Of Us, The White Lotus and Barry.

Congrats to the rookies!

The Last Of Us is a beloved franchise, and a Part 3 is inevitable. Both previous titles have been massive hits for Sony and Naughty Dog. Interests in the franchise spiked earlier this year as HBO Max and Neil Druckmann nailed the TV adaptation of TLOU Part 1.

The Dead are almost done playing live.Legendary Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Dead and Company have just three more concerts on their ‘Final Tour.’On July 14-16, John Mayer, Bobby Weir, Mickey Hart, Oteil Burbridge, Jeff Chimenti and Jay Lane will play their last three shows at San Francisco’s Oracle Park.Then, the group is calling it quits for good.Considering the historic nature of these hometown gigs for the Dead, tickets are relatively affordable.At the time of publication, we found tickets going for just $154 before fees on Vivid Seats.Plus, who knows what special guests they have planned for these final ‘Final Tour’ gigs?Dave Matthews recently played with the band in Boulder, CO — and anything is possible for the Dead’s swan song.Want to grab last-minute tickets before it’s too late to see Dead and Company live?Here’s everything you need to know about their three-day Oracle Park sendoff.All prices listed above are subject to fluctuation.A complete breakdown of all the best upper-deck, lower-deck and floor seats prices for the Dead and Company concerts on July 14-16 at San Francisco, CA’s Oracle Park can be found below.(Note: The New York Post confirmed all above prices at the publication time.

Karen Allen is best known to fans as Marion, the longtime love of Harrison Ford‘s title character in the long-running Indiana Jones franchise.

“Succession” and “The Last of Us” are facing Disney+’s “Andor,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” AMC’s “Interview with a Vampire,” Paramount+’s “The Good Fight,” HBO’s “The White Lotus” and Showtime’s “Yellowjackets.” As for individual acting achievements between the two leaders, both Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay were nominated for “The Last of Us,” and Kieran Culkin, Sarah Snook and Jeremy Strong were nominated for “Succession.”As for comedies, nomination leader “The Bear” will be facing off against “Abbott Elementary” in Outstanding Achievement in Comedy. The ABC hit took home the top honor last year.

The Last Of Us, but his potential casting never became “serious”.While the HBO adaptation of the video game was in development, reports claimed True Detective stars Mahershala Ali and McConaughey were both in contention to play the role of Joel in the series, which eventually went to Pedro Pascal.Show co-creator Craig Mazin addressed the rumours on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, where he confirmed talks with McConaughey had taken place.“I actually never talked to Mahershala,” Mazin said. “I did talk to Matthew [McConaughey]. I can’t say it was serious.

The cast of The Last of Us might have looked very different.

It’s hard to imagine The Last of Us without Pedro Pascal, but cocreator Craig Mazin revealed that there was another contender for the role of Joel — Matthew McConaughey.

HBO has another hit on its hands with “The Last Of Us,” with the series breaking all sorts of viewership records for the network earlier this year. And a lot of the show’s critical success comes from its cast, leading man Pedro Pascal in particular.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Before Pedro Pascal landed the male lead in HBO’s adaptation of the hugely popular “The Last of Us” video game, rumors swirled that co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were trying to lure former “True Detective” stars Mahershala Ali and Matthew McConaughey back to the network to headline the series. Mazin finally sounded off on the casting rumors during a recent interview on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast. “I actually never talked to Mahershala,” Mazin said before confirming that talks with McConaughey did in fact take place. However, it sounds like McConaughey’s casting never made it past early discussions about the project.

 almost looked very different!During an appearance on the  podcast, showrunner Craig Mazin revealed that Matthew McConaughey was originally tapped for the role of Joel before Pedro Pascal signed on to the hit HBO series.«I did talk to Matthew. I can't say that it was a series [of conversations]. It was more of a, 'Hey, here's something to talk about,'» Mazin shared.

Craig Mazin, showrunner of The Last of Us, is opening up about working on the script for Dune: Part Two.

Clayton Davis Senior Awards Editor Pedro Pascal is charming, funny and incredibly talented. His resume thus far includes notable films and television series such as HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Lionsgate’s “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.” During his interview, I referenced his 2020 cover story. In that story, he said he couldn’t believe Patty Jenkins cast him in “Wonder Woman 1984” without auditioning. Then something happened that you don’t typically see. When asked what it feels like to be a role model to young Latinos, LGBTQ and Hollywood dreamers everywhere who yearn to sit in the same position he finds himself in, his usual charisma and confidence melted away.

Latto isn’t holding back.

After years and years of writing comedy films with mixed success (for every “Hangover” there’s a “Superhero Movie”), Craig Mazin has found his place as one of the best creators on television, thanks to the success of both “Chernobyl” and “The Last of Us.” And apparently, with his renewed passion for TV, it appears he’s willing to put the film business behind him.

Before Margot Robbie took on the role of the world’s most iconic toy figure in the upcoming and hotly anticipated “Barbie”, there was another actress the filmmakers had in mind — Gal Gadot.

Margot Robbie took on the role of the world's most iconic toy figure in the upcoming and hotly anticipated, there was another actress the filmmakers had in mind — Gal Gadot.The stunning star walked the carpet at Netflix's Tudum: A Global Fan Event, held in São Paulo, Brazil, and she stopped to talk with ET's Denny Directo about reports that producers — including Robbie herself — first thought of Gadot for the titular role.Robbie told, in an interview published in May, that Gadot was considered, but wasn't available, and yet served as a sort of template for the character, explaining, «Gal Gadot Barbie energy.»«Margo, I love you!» Gadot told ET in response to the actress' remarks. «I'll do anything with you, I'll be [in] anything with you!»According to Robbie's comments to Vogue, Gadot embodies the ideals of Barbie «because she is so impossibly beautiful, but you don’t hate her for being that beautiful because she’s so genuinely sincere, and she’s so enthusiastically kind, that it’s almost dorky.