The Last Of Us: New Image Reveals Ashley Johnson's Character

Actress Ashley Johnson played Ellie in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and The Last of Us: Part II, and she is joining the cast of the HBO series for this Sunday's season finale. She joins other actors from the game who have roles on the show, including Troy Baker, Jeffrey Pierce, and Merle Dandridge.

But who will Johnson portray? Spoilers for HBO's The Last of Us follow below.

Johnson will play Ellie's mother, Anna. This was already announced back in January, when Neil Druckmann confirmed that the short story he wrote for the game that nearly became DLC about Ellie's mother would come to life in the HBO series.

"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," Druckmann said.

HBO shared a photo of Johnson as Anna. The character appears to be pregnant with Ellie as she walks through the woods and grasps onto a birch tree, with a look of horror on her face. In the game, Anna dies not long after giving birth. The game never reveals who Ellie's father is.

Johnson is the fourth actor from the game series to appear in a live-action role for the TV series. Baker, who played Joel in the games, played the cannibal James in Episode 8. Pierce portrayed Tommy in the games and a henchman named Perry in Episode 3. Dandridge, who plays Marlene, has the distinction of being the only actor to play the same role in the game and the TV series.

The Last of Us airs its season finale this Sunday, March 12, and it's expected to be a big episode. The writers already confirmed that Season 1 will cover the events of the first game, so that means there is some high drama to come as anyone who has played the game knows.

For more on the series, check out GameSpot's breakdown video for Episode 8 above.