With film adaptations of “Assassin’s Creed” and “Splinter Cell” attracting serious talent like Michael Fassbender and Tom Hardy, respectively, video-game movies could be getting the kind of serious facelift that superhero movies experienced over the next few years, and now there are rumors of another high-profile title making the jump to the big screen.
MarkMonitor, Sony’s online brand protection agency, has registered at least two domains that suggest a “Last of Us” film could be in the works, IGN points out. The post-apocalyptic tale was already plenty cinematic when it hit the PlayStation 3 earlier this year, so it’s not hard to imagine an actual movie version.
It should be noted that this is hardly evidence of such an adaptation, since companies often register titles without concrete plans to film anything, but the news gets us speculating about who could take on the lead roles of Joel and Ellie. Assuming that the latter role goes to a yet-unknown child actress, there are a few leading men we have in mind for Joel.
Josh Brolin
Though he hasn’t had the box-office success to match his acting ability, Brolin has cornered the market on tough characters that most likely have a Southern drawl. If Sony was willing to bet on him leading the film, fans could get a Joel that looks a lot like the game version.
Mark Ruffalo
After the huge success of “The Avengers” and his character in particular, Ruffalo seems poised to strike out on his own in a non-Marvel tentpole movie. As much as we like Ruffalo in the smaller-budget movies that he’s always been drawn to, there’s some serious potential here for a blockbuster led by an actor who has the chops to support it.
Jake Gyllenhaal
If “Prisoners” proved anything, it’s that we all need more Jake Gyllenhaal movies. It’s unfortunate that something like “Prince of Persia” could cast any doubt on his ability as a leading man, but it’s impossible to watch him as Detective Loki and think that he wouldn’t be great in something like “The Last of Us.”
Joel Edgerton
For as good of a performance as Leonardo DiCaprio gave in “The Great Gatsby,” the man quietly stealing the show from him was Australian actor Joel Edgerton. The “Warrior” star has been on the verge of breaking out since 2010, and his tough demeanor would certainly fit in the infected future of “Last of Us.”
Hugh Jackman
It’s not like Jackman is in need of work in big-budget movies, but he would be great as Joel. Plus, we already know that he looks good with a scruffy beard.
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