Matthew McConaughey Could Have Played Joel In The Last of Us TV Show—Actor Explained Why He Rejected the Role

Unlike Naughty Dog's The Last of Us games, the HBO adaptation isn't generally seen as a gold-standard translation. That's partly due to how the creators chose to tell the story and shift certain elements from the games, but also because plenty of viewers feel the casting could've been handled more carefully, especially in Bella Ramsey's case, who many feel bears little resemblance to Ellie from the games.

As is well known, Pedro Pascal landed the role of Joel in The Last of Us TV series and has become one of the show's biggest highlights. It turned out that HBO had initially considered Matthew McConaughey, star of Interstellar and True Detective, for the character. In a recent interview on Happy Sad Confused, the 56-year-old actor explained why he passed on it, claiming he was deep in writing at the time and reflecting on leadership-type roles, and ultimately decided it wasn't the right moment to take on Joel. You can check out McConaughey's fuller comments below:

"I wasn’t really acting at that point. I think that was part of when I was doing more writing and looking at leadership roles and in life and stuff. It was really good. I was really excited. Correct me if I’m wrong. I’m not a huge TV watcher, but we pulled off a real coup with True Detective at a time when series were not something that actors like myself or Woody Harrelson would hop over and go do. And that one succeeded in a real royal fashion. Last of Us was really good, it wasn’t for me at the time. I don’t know what would have been for me at the time. I guess that the first thing that came across was Rivals that I went like, ‘Oh this is extremely particular.’ It’s a movie. It’s one movie, and a series you do have to consider, you want this to succeed. Well in success, this is something you’ll be doing for years and years and years. Do I want for that to be the case in success?"

It would be fascinating to imagine how The Last of Us might have turned out with McConaughey as Joel, though there's little doubt he would have nailed the role. Filming is currently underway on The Last of Us season three, which will reportedly center on Abby's story, played by Kaitlyn Dever. According to insider Daniel Richtman, this will also be the show's final season, with the premiere date currently unknown.

As for the games, insider reports recently surfaced claiming Naughty Dog is secretly developing The Last of Us Part III, with the story possibly centered on the idea of other immune people existing in the world. For now, the studio's only officially confirmed project remains its new IP, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, an upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive without a release date yet, but rumored to release next summer.