A scheduling conflict appears to have led to a new casting
Ron Swanson fans will be pleased. Nick Offerman has taken up the role of Bill, the crafty and reclusive survivor, for The Last of Us HBO adaptation.
According to Variety Offerman is taking up the role from Con O’Neill, who is no longer portraying Bill due to scheduling conflict. Offerman will play the character alongside Murray Bartlett’s Frank. Those who have played the first Last of Us game will remember the early section set in “Bill’s Town,” and the tensions between the two characters.
The HBO Last of Us series looks set to follow the story of the PlayStation game made by Naughty Dog. Taking place years after humanity was overtaken by a fungal infection, Joel tries to deliver Ellie out of a quarantine zone and into the hands of the rogue Fireflies.
Welcome to The Last of Us, @Nick_Offerman! We're so stoked to see you bring Bill to our TV screens!https://t.co/oxluGsllMU
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) December 7, 2021
HBO confirmed it would be adapting The Last of Us last year, with Pedro Pascal taking on the role of Joel and Bella Ramsey playing Ellie. Naughty Dog and HBO shared a first look image back in September, so production’s been underway for at least a while.
Naughty Dog, meanwhile, might be working on more Last of Us for the future as well. Between confirmation earlier this year that the team is still working on multiplayer of some kind, and rumors of a remake of the first Last of Us, it seems like a lot is on the way for this universe.
For the HBO adaptation at least, Nick Offerman seems like a great casting for Bill. His section is short but has a lot of impact, so it’ll be interesting to see where the Parks and Recreation and Devs actor takes the character.