How The Last of Us Season 2 Could Bring Back Original Joel Actor

Original Joel actor Troy Baker, who plays James in the HBO adaptation, shares a creative idea for how he can return in The Last of Us season 2.

Warning: SPOILERS for The Last of Us episode 8Troy Baker shares an idea for how he can return in The Last of Us season 2. Baker originally voiced and provided motion capture for Joel Miller in The Last of Us video game and its sequel, The Last of Us Part II. HBO’s adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game series sees Pedro Pascal playing the role of Joel, though Baker still got to play the character of James, David’s right-hand man, in The Last of Us episode 8, though the character was killed by Ellie before the episode’s end.

Shortly after The Last of Us episode 8 aired, Baker talked to Inverse and shared a creative idea for how he can return even though James was killed off. The original Joel actor suggests, à la Garret Dillahunt in Deadwood, he could return in The Last of Us season 2 as a different character, and taking a page out of Gary Oldman’s playbook, is willing to undergo a significant physical transformation in order to do so. Read what Baker said below:

One of my favorite examples of this is Garret Dillahunt in Deadwood, where he got to play two characters in the same show, he plays a completely different character. To me, that is like the Gary Oldman effect, where you can just disappear into a role and people don’t even recognize that it’s you. If there’s an opportunity for me to do that. I would love it, and just see how many people go, Wow. If they say, “You got to shave your head and you got to lose 20 pounds by tomorrow,” I will do both of those things. It’ll be incredibly unhealthy, but I would love to do it. So who knows, maybe there’s an opportunity for me to do that. If there is, great. But I’m also very, very happy and content to be an observer because this is one of the best stories to watch.

Related: The Last Of Us’ 2 Best Episodes Aren’t About Joel (& That’s The Point)

Who Troy Baker Could Play in The Last of Us Season 2

Shortly after its record-breaking premiere, HBO renewed The Last of Us season 2 which will essentially adapt the events of the second game. There are plenty of new characters introduced in The Last of Us Part II that will likely be making their way into the HBO show, including Abby and Dina, the latter of which was teased with a Last of Us episode 6 Easter egg. Dina’s ex-boyfriend Jesse and Abby’s fellow Firefly Manny will also likely be introduced in The Last of Us season 2, though Baker won’t be able to play either one of those characters.

HBO’s The Last of Us has had several voice actors from the games appear in the show. This includes Merle Dandridge reprising her role as resistance leader Marlene, Tommy actor Jeffrey Pierce as the revolutionary rebel Perry, and now, Baker as James. While there aren’t any major characters from The Last of Us Part II that he could play, there is no reason why creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who considered Baker’s inclusion in the series to be crucial, wouldn’t be willing to create a new minor character for him to play in The Last of Us season 2.

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Source: Inverse