A The Last of Us spin-off that fans are desperately hoping is made about Bill and Frank could actually happen… as it’s ‘been pitched’.
It’s incredible to think it’s already been nearly a year since the drama blasted onto our TV screens, taking viewers across the globe by storm.
The TV adaptation of the popular video game franchise was an immediate hit, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey teaming up as the unlikely duo Joel and Ellie in a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a fungal pandemic.
One of the most critically-acclaimed instalments of season 1 was episode 3, when Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) are introduced, a couple who meet after the outbreak and grow old together in a powerful love story for the ages.
Ever since the series premiered, fans have been desperate to see more of Bill and Frank’s emotive story, particularly as it was depicted in a notably different way to the video game.
On Saturday night, Nick, 53, attended the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, where he picked up his first ever Emmy Award for his masterful performance in the globally-renowned show.
When questioned on whether Bill and Frank could be seen in future in The Last of Us universe – considering the second season is currently in the works – the Parks and Recreation star gave a very exciting answer.
‘Oh, great question but I would have to ask somebody with a higher pay grade than myself. It certainly has been pitched. I think we pitched a whole mini-series of a prequel of their lives before they met each other,’ he said, according to Deadline.
He quipped jokingly: ‘It could be a musical. We’re not short on ideas. We’ll just see what [creators] Craig [Mazin] and Neil [Druckmann] come up with.’
The actor said that he would be up for reprising the role, saying: ‘Oh sure,’ in response to the question.
With his signature dry wit, he added: ‘I was lucky this time. They needed a guy who could use a shovel. Three of us in Hollywood, Harrison Ford passed and Jane Lynch was not available.’
While talking to Metro.co.uk and other media about their The Last of Us episode, Murray, 51, spoke about the ‘importance’ of telling Bill and Frank’s story.
‘You read stories or you read scripts and there are so many things that you take into account, including something like diversity and representation and the importance and the responsibility of that,’ he said at the time.
‘I think one of the best things to do while honouring that, is sort of put that out of your head – and fortunately in this case, we had this wonderful script about a love story between these two people.
‘You just focus on that, regardless of all that stuff, because I think that that’s what makes representation and inclusivity and diversity – it’s just connection between people. That was just in the script. There’s this beautiful connection between these two people. I hope it has a sort of a universal kind of resonance that is memorable.’
Nick added that in his opinion, he hadn’t ‘really seen this couple represented’ in popular culture.
‘It really goes a long way toward espousing the permission to all of us that if there’s another human being you should be allowed to love one another, regardless of how you fit in conventional couple templates,’ he said.
‘I love that, I love the narrative possibility that these two guys run into each other and you’re like, “Oh, that’s such a wonderful surprise. I did not see this turning into ‘let’s fall in love.’”’
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The Last of Us is available to watch on Sky and NOW.
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