The live-action adaptation of the The Last of Us video game instantly became a critical success and fan-favorite TV show when it debuted in 2023. However, one vital decision that keeps bugging part of the fanbase is the creators’ casting choice for Ellie. The British actor Bella Ramsey was cast in the role of Ellie and proved the naysayers wrong with their impressive performance in Season 1.
Still, that was not enough for some fans, and they continued to demand that the creators recast Bella as Ellie in The Last of Us Season 2. Ahead of the second season’s premiere, the showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin opened up about why recasting Bella Ramsey as Ellie was never a topic of discussion.
In an interview with GamesRadar, Druckman mentioned, “We’ve considered recasting Bella exactly zero percent.” Mazin elaborated on Bella Ramsey’s (pronouns they/them) casting and said, “I’ve spent so much time with them, and I’ve watched them grow up from 17 years old now to 21 years old. And at our age, four years doesn’t mean a damn thing. 17 to 21 is massive. So Bella themselves has changed and evolved quite a lot.”
Mazin further added, “It’s funny, even my relationship with Bella, I’ve watched sort of like a Joel and Ellie relationship where they were like my kid and then it was sort of like you have to let them go a bit and let them be now their own person more and to be side by side with them. And that’s why I think Ellie seems older because Bella is older. And in fact, Bella is older than Ellie is in the show.”
So, you can see why the creators felt that Bella Ramsey was tailor-made for the role of Ellie. Mazin expanded by emphasizing that the heart and soul of the character matter more to them than the physicality:
So, to us, it’s always been less about physicality and always about the heart and soul. And I think they did an incredible job. We didn’t actually do anything to age them up. We just wrote the character to be older. And, big surprise, Bella Ramsey portrays it gorgeously – Craig Mazin
Coming back to Druckmann, he provided additional insight to highlight Bella Ramsey’s incredible acting skills:
When you’re watching Bella perform, you could just see this maturity behind their eyes. That is, it seems very simple and it’s very difficult to pull off and very few actors can pull it off that they have – Neil Druckmann
Initially, I was also skeptical about this casting choice. But Bella Ramsey as Ellie won not only my heart but also the fans’ hearts with their terrific performance in TLOU Season 1. So, I can’t wait to witness more of Bella’s performance in Season 2, premiering on April 13, along with other new The Last of Us Season 2 cast members. In the meantime, let us know your thoughts on Bella Ramsey as Ellie in the comments below.
