While it may seem that Joel’s story in The Last of Us is finished, Troy Baker still believes we will see the character again in some form.
Please be aware of The Last of Us spoilers below.
For many of us here, when we think of The Last of Us’ Joel, we think of Troy Baker as the actor that brought him to life. However, for others, Joel is played by Pedro Pascal, who portrays the gruff but loveable smuggler in HBO’s TV adaptation.
“The show is vastly larger, there is a lower barrier of entry,” Baker tells me when I ask what it is like seeing another person becoming so beloved as The Last of Us’ Joel (he “loves” it, by the way). “I really applaud [game creator Neil Druckmann] for being able to go ‘yes, let’s do this show’. He knew the story of Joel and Ellie was important enough, and sometimes, you have to bring the mountain to the man. There will be people who would never pick up the controller and never experience that story, and what a tragedy that would be. So, let’s bring it to them.”
Baker adds that adapting The Last of Us into TV show allowed Druckmann to tell the journey of Joel and Ellie in a new way, but still maintain the “impact of what this story is really about” for newcomers. “All I wanted was for Pedro to show me something in his performance that I missed with Joel. And, he did it every episode. I really commend him, and am very grateful that he handled Joel with such careful hands – he loved that character just as much as I did,” Baker says. “That is all I could ever hope for.”
Baker admits seeing Pascal’s Joel die at the hands of Abby in the second season of The Last of Us was “brutal” to watch. “I hope that Pedro is not the last person to play Joel,” he continues. “I want to see this character be proliferated and iterated on in multiple mediums, whether it be TV, film, more games, comic books. I see people that cosplay as [Joel] all the time… he made an impact.
“I definitely know we’ve not seen the last of Joel, whether that be Naughty Dog or somebody else.”
Baker calls The Last of Us “one of the best stories in games”, appreciating there are many “incredible” ones out there. “What I love about [The Last of Us] is, I have never felt more of like, what the character is feeling,” he says, joking he was “exhausted” and didn’t “want to do this anymore”. And the TV show, he believes, did a “great job of keeping the essence and the spirit” of The Last of Us for those who may not have been able to experience the game for themselves.
Since The Last of Us, Baker has had a number of other high-profile roles including Higgs in Death Standing and its sequel On the Beach, Mouse: P.I. for Hire’s protagonist Jack Pepper, and of course as Indiana Jones in the Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.
Following its acclaimed release on Xbox, PC and PlayStation, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle will make its Switch 2 debut later this year, on 12th May. “Smart, fun and so very Indiana Jones, The Great Circle is a stealth action tour de force that marks a bold new era for MachineGames,” reads our original five star review from 2024.
As for The Last of Us, filming for the third season has begun, with earlier set photos giving us a look at Kaitlyn Dever reprising her role as Abby and newcomer Kyriana Kratter as Lev.
