going through many iterations to finally get on the big screen.
The Last of Us (HBO)
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann confirmed in an interview with Variety that Ellie’s mother, Anna, was potentially going to be included for a DLC for the first game. The director revealed he wrote a short story for the character after the first game launched in 2013.
The plot of Anna’s story underwent several revisions, first as an animated short and subsequently as DLC.
“It was supposed to be an animated short, but it fell apart and didn’t come to be. There was a moment where we almost made it as DLC, but it fell apart.”
The Last of Us HBO TV adaptation will now include the plot, with Ashley Johnson, who plays Ellie in the games, as Anna. “I brought it up to Craig and he was immediately excited by it. We brought it to life in the most beautiful, poetic way, which is Ashley Johnson playing Ellie’s mom and she was the original actor for Ellie.“
Who was Anna?
The Last of Us: American Dreams comic books and Marlene, in particular, have taught us a lot about Anna, despite the fact that she never appeared on screen in the video games.
Before the cordyceps outbreak, she worked as a nurse and, at some undisclosed time, Marlene and she became close friends. one of the Fireflies’ leaders. However, their bond was strained by Anna’s apparent stubbornness, a personality trait shared by daughter Ellie.
The Last of Us (Dark Horse Comics)
After the outbreak, Anna became pregnant from Ellie and gave birth to her in 2019, however, in the show it is more likely that she was born in 2009, as the show’s canon is set 10 years earlier. She died shortly after giving birth.
Anna did have time before she died to write a letter to Ellie, in which she shared that she didn’t like children but was “awestruck” when she saw Ellie. She also stated that she believes Ellie will grow into the woman she was always meant to be. Marlene promised to take care of Ellie, eventually placing her in an orphanage and then a military boarding school.
We are very excited to see Ashley Johnson play Ellie’s mother, who has proven in the games that she can deliver absolutely stunning performances and arguably knows what type of person Anna would be best suited for.
In other news…read more about a potential The Last of Us Part III or delve deeper in Tess’s backstory.