HBO tries its hand at a video game adaptation for the first time and creates magic with Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Productions, Naughty Dog, The Mighty Mint, and Word Games. But if the latest Twitter rants are anything to go by, then none of these names matter. Because all fans wanted was for Elliot Page to be cast as Ellie Williams in place of Bella RamseyBella Ramsey in The Last of Us.
elliot page would be a good ellie for the last of us
— bai 🦋 (@asiaabai) February 4, 2023
It is a selfish desire for more reasons than one, especially when you find out that this is not the first time Elliot Page has been unwillingly dragged into a The Last of Us debate. The controversy that started back in 2013 is still as hurtful and undying as it was back then.
Elliot Page, Ellie Williams, and Bella Ramsey: An Isosceles triangle
Much like the two equal sides of the isosceles triangle, Bella Ramsey got to play Ellie Williams in The Last of Us, and Page denied, for all the right reasons. Ramsey is 19 years old with younger features and sheer grit to survive in her eyes, making her the perfect casting for a 14-year-old Ellie Williams.
Fun fact for newcomers to The Last of Us: when the game was first announced Ellie was heavily inspired by Elliot Page before quickly being updated. pic.twitter.com/YMNQQp3Jpy
— Shaun Frazier (@solid_mcavoy) February 2, 2023
The actress has many, if not all, features that the video game version of Ellie Williams has. And she makes no fault in portraying the character to the nine. But that does not stop fans from dragging Elliot Page into this.
Page pulled into a controversy that had nothing to do with him
Page had anything to do with The Last of Us, except, of course, for having their exact features penned down into a video game character by Naughty Dog. It is something they did not shy away from pointing out ten years ago, and also something fans have not stopped tweeting about to this day.
Thinking of the time when Elliot Page accused Naughty Dog of ripping off her likeness for The Last Of Us
— Ha Seong Kim stan, Mike (@ThBoneOfMySword) January 31, 2023
I don’t know anything about The Last of Us but I wanna choke everyone who calls Bella Ramsey ugly or says Elliot Page should’ve played Ellie
— Jackson/Aiden: ★★★★★ (@percyjackster) February 6, 2023
This qualifies as the right example of toxic fan culture because of two pivotal reasons. Firstly, Page has long declared that they are trans and thriving. Wanting the actor to be cast as a 14-year-old girl qualifies as deadnaming by all standards.
Secondly, Ramsay leaves no stone unturned with her performance in the series. Stretching on the argument to a “should-have” casting is insulting towards her. This is not the first case of a video game fandom remaining unappeased by the casting; The Witcher is facing a similar fate with Henry Cavill’s exit.
Check out the series on HBO and let us know whatknow what you think of the casting controversy in the comments below.
