Matthew McConaughey and Pedro Pascal Matt Baron/Shutterstock; Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
It’s arduous to think about The Final of Us with out Pedro Pascal, however cocreator Craig Mazin revealed that there was one other contender for the function of Joel — Matthew McConaughey.
The Oscar winner, 53, was rumored as a attainable candidate earlier than Pascal, 48, landed the function in 2021. Mazin, 52, confirmed the hypothesis throughout a current interview on the “Joyful Unhappy Confused” podcast.
“I did discuss to Matthew,” Mazin recalled. “I can’t say that it was a collection [of conversations]. It was extra of like, ‘Hey! Right here’s one thing to speak about.’”
Craig Mazin at ‘The Final of Us’ FYC Occasion Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock
Mazin additionally addressed previous rumors that Mahershala Ali was additionally thought of for the HBO drama’s lead, saying, “I really by no means talked to Mahershala.”
Based on Mazin, he and cocreator Neil Druckmann — who wrote the online game on which the present relies — have been at all times curious about Pascal, however he wasn’t initially obtainable to movie one other TV present. Pascal presently stars because the titular character on The Mandalorian, and his movie roster is normally fairly full.
“Pedro was on our listing from the beginning. We have been informed that he was unavailable,” Mazin defined. “After which as we have been floundering about a bit bit, I bought a name from his agent who stated, ‘You understand, he really may be obtainable.’”
Pascal and costar Bella Ramsey have been formally confirmed to play Joel and Ellie, respectively, in February 2021. Followers lastly bought to see their performances almost two years later when The Final of Us premiered in January, turning into HBO’s second-largest debut ever. The community renewed the collection for season 2 lower than two weeks after the premiere.
Whereas Mazin was sure Pascal was the proper selection for Joel, the actor admitted earlier this 12 months that he was initially nervous to simply accept the half. “It grew to become very, very clear in a short time how a lot individuals cherished the sport and the expertise of taking part in the sport,” Pascal informed Leisure Tonight in January. “That was scary as a result of you will get actually right into a e book. You will get actually right into a collection. And that is the subsequent degree of stepping into an immersive expertise of taking part in these characters.”
Although he is aware of followers of the sport are eagerly awaiting to see how the present adapts the story, Pascal himself hasn’t performed. “It’s so unhappy, I haven’t any ability. I attempted, you realize,” he confessed to British GQ in April 2022. “After which it was solely a matter of minutes earlier than I needed to hand it over to my nephew. It actually takes a selected form of ability, and I don’t have it.”
