Joel and Ellie from The Last of Us are two of the most beloved video game characters of old times. Despite TLOU Part 2 often being criticized for inclusivity, the love for the characters is universal.

Now, the Naughty Dog boss says that the audition for the Intergalactic protagonist was as intimidating as that of Ellie actress.

Why it matters: Ever since Intergalactic’s reveal, the title has been under fire for promoting DEI, especially with the protagonist. This even led Naughty Dog to disable comments on YouTube.
Intergalactic protagonist criticized for DEI
Naughty Dog unveiled its much-anticipated new title, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at the Game Awards. However, most people were disappointed and underwhelmed by the trailer, some even calling it Concord 2.0.

It was one of those moments like when I first saw Ashely Johnson as Ellie.

– Neil Druckmann

Nonetheless, Neil Druckmann has compared the audition of Intergalactic’s protagonist to that of Ellie from TLOU. He says when Tati Gabrielle was brought in for an audition they were all blown away by her, it was like when they first saw Ashley Johnson as Ellie.
Ellie is one of the most beloved video game protagonists
There is no denying the talent that Gabrielle possesses. She has had great performances in TV Shows and movies like The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Uncharted, and more. But comparing her to Ellie at this point seems a bit too much.

Most people aren’t too happy with it, and it’s even clear from the likes/dislikes ratio in the trailer. So, it’ll be really interesting to say what happens from here. We hope she can deliver a performance that overshadows all the controversy, but for now, things aren’t looking too good for Naughty Dog.