"I want to be blown up by Joel": Troy Baker wants to play an Infected in The Last of Us TV show

(Image credit: Sony)

Troy Baker doesn't expect The Last of Us HBO series to cast him as main character Joel again - though Baker would like to get blown up by him.

Baker went live on YouTube earlier today to discuss his reactions to the first photos of Tom Holland as Nathan Drake in the Uncharted movie. He noted that Holland will have to contend with five games worth of high expectations for the character of Nathan Drake (Baker must be counting Uncharted: Golden Abyss there, with great generosity in his heart), and he also admitted that "he would rather have a show" adaptation. Though he may be slightly biased on that last point.

"The reason why I'm looking at this is this feels like a possible harbinger of what the HBO show of The Last of Us is gonna be like, which feels like it's definitely in good hands with Craig Mazin," Baker said.

Baker has shared who his original pick to play Joel was, but we're still waiting to hear any official casting details about the production. While plans for the show are taking shape, he did voice one special request: "I would love to be someone who's like, and 'by the way, he's an Infected' and I want to be blown up by Joel. That would be the best. Or just the guy who's like Quint in Jaws, just like 'Oh, you think you're gonna make it out of this? Let me tell you where you're gonna go.'"

Hollywood has a grand tradition of bringing in creators like Stan Lee and Stephen King to appear in adaptations of their material. Since so many people had a hand in shaping The Last of Us, it only seems fair that they get some sly cameos of their own.

Co-writer Craig Mazin says the HBO series will "enhance" the story of The Last of Us.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.