Merle Dandridge Talks Being Marlene For The Last Of Us Adaptation

When The Last of Us was announced for a live-action TV adaptation on HBO, all fans could hope for was that the show did right by the beloved game. Sure enough, the adaptation is being hailed as one of the best to be made, and part of the reason for that was the casting of its main characters. But what surprised people was that some people from the game were in the live-action adaptation and sometimes played big parts. One of those people was Merle Dandridge, who played the role of Marlene the Firefly in the game and the live-action series.

Marlene played a vital role in both versions due to her connections to Joel, Ellie, and Ellie’s mom. Dandridge admitted at the beginning of the season that she was thrilled to be Marlene again. With the season finale aired, she’s reiterating that and admitting more about getting the role again. She even likened it to Christmas during an interview with IGN:

“It’s a character that I have loved for a very long time,” Dandridge said. “To be able to bring this character – who is, honestly, put in such a horrible position in her life of great loss and a lifetime of terrible choices for the sake of the greater good – to be able to bring that to a prestige network like HBO was an honor and a thrill.”

She did admit that it wasn’t an “immediate lock” and that it took some luck and timing to make it happen, but in the end, the HBO people thought she was perfect for the role, which made her feel over the moon.

Sure enough, many people praised her performance as Marlene, so they made the right call.

As noted, others from The Last of Us game had roles in the live-action series. First, Troy Baker, who played Joel in the games, had a supporting role in a key episode. Then Ashley Johnson, who was Ellie in both games, played Ellie’s mother, Anna, in the season finale.

For fans, this was a kind of “full circle” moment because these actors made these characters beloved and realistic in video game form ten years ago and then turned around and helped make the adaptation just as realistic and emotional a decade later. That’s not something that every show gets to do.

With Season 2 confirmed and possibly filming this year, many fans hope that these kinds of “connections” will continue somehow and that the show’s quality holds.