'The Last of Us' creators say they won't recast Bella Ramsey amid season 2 time-jump: 'Let's put this thing to rest'

• "The Last of Us" creators confirmed they won't recast Bella Ramsey despite the season two time-jump.
• Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said the second season will be "different" from the first.
• They explained that the only way they'd recast Ramsey's character is if she wanted to leave.

"The Last of Us" season one finally came to a close on Sunday, and the show continued to pull on the heartstrings in the finale as it has for most of the season. The show has faithfully adapted the PlayStation game in a way that has surprised audiences and critics alike, and the finale leaves things in an interesting place ahead of season two.

Players who already know Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) story will know that "The Last of Us: Part II" jumps ahead five years after the explosive ending to the first game. As a result, some fans have called for the show to recast Bella Ramsey to show the difference between 14-year-old Ellie and 19-year-old Ellie.

But the show's creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, confirmed at a press conference (via Entertainment Weekly) that Ramsey will reprise her role in season two, confirming that they're not going to recast Ellie.

Mazin said: "One of the things about the casting process that's tough is that we invite people to join us on this process, and we know everything [about the secrets of the production] and nobody else knows anything except what they know, which is the game." 

He added: "We know what we're gonna do in terms of costume and makeup and hair, but more importantly, we also know the spirit and soul of the actor."

Mazin pointed out that fans previously complained that Ramsey didn't look enough like Ellie when she originally joined the cast, but he knew they'd come around because of her performance. "I'm like, 'It doesn't matter. Watch! Just watch what happens.' And now they know," he said.

The "Chernobyl" creator went on to say that the second season will be "different" to the game in the same way that the first season took the story in different directions at times — like the devastating episode about Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett).

He said: "Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it will be [barely] different at all. But it's going to be different and it will be its own thing. It won't be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make. But we are making it with Bella."

Druckmann also took the time to praise the actor behind Ellie in the game, Ashley Johnson, before noting that Ramsey is equally perfect for the role.

"It was like lightning in the bottle that we found Ashley Johnson and I can't imagine that version of Ellie being anybody else. And then somehow we got lightning in the bottle again with Bella," said Druckmann, who also developed the game series.

He added: "The only way we would ever, ever consider re-casting Bella is if she said, 'I don't want to work with you guys anymore.' And even then, we're not sure we would grant her that. We might still force her to come back to season two."