It’s not often that an actor from a game gets to play the same part in a film/TV adaptation, but that’s what’s happening with HBO’s The Last of Us and actor Merle Dandridge.
Merle Dandridge provided the voice for Marlene in The Last of Us (and for flashbacks in Part II) and, according to Variety, she’s all set to reprise her role for the upcoming TV series alongside Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie.
Marlene is the leader of the Fireflies, a group working to overthrow military rule in the quarantine zones that have been created after civilisation was destroyed by a mutated fungus that turns its victims into aggressive monsters known as the Infected. To avoid spoilers for those that haven’t played The Last of Us, I will simply say that she is central to the plot and it’s pretty great that they got her back.
Dandridge’s past screen appearances include (the rather excellent) The Flight Attendant, The Night Shift, and Son’s of Anarchy. She is also the voice of Alyx Vance from Half-Life 2 and other video game credits include Dota 2, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.
There is no official release date for HBO’s The Last of Us, yet, but it is possible we’ll see it before the end of the year or in early 2022.