We now officially have our Joel in the upcoming The Last of Us TV series from HBO. With the confirmed news of Game of Thrones' Bella Ramsey taking on the role of Ellie, it has now been confirmed that fellow Game of Thrones actor and The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal will be taking on the role of Joel. 

As reported by Deadline, Pascal has officially signed the deal to play Joel, a cynical survivor that is hired to smuggle a young girl to safety. That girl, Ellie, and he developed a father/daughter bond in a dangerous world filled with loss and death. 

The upcoming series will take place during the events of the first game and is meant to "enhance" what many fell in love with during the beginning of Joel and Ellie's journey together. Naughty Dog is working in conjunction with Sony Pictures Television, Word Games, and The Mighty Mint for this adaptation, with Kantemir Balagov (Beanpole) set to direct alongside Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) as co-executive producer and lead writer. 

According to a previous interview with Druckmann, the creator of the video game itself, Mazin has a "deep understanding" of the world that Naughty Dog built. While the official synposis hasn't been released at this time, nor have we learned any more about the cast, having our two main characters confirmed is a solid first step when learning more about the upcoming show. 

Between Star Wars' Din Djarin and Game of Thrones' Lyanna Mormont, the upcoming HBO series is already packing a mean punch when it comes to talent taking these characters to new heights.

What do you think about Pedro Pascal taking on the role of Joel in the upcoming The Last of Us TV series on HBO? What other casting decisions would you like to see be made? Sound off with your thoughts in the comment section below! 

[Source: Deadline]

Pokémon Day, which takes place annually on February 27 to celebrate the Japanese release of Pokémon Red & Green, promises to be a big one thanks to this year marking the 25th anniversary of the series' launch. We've already seen the logo celebrating the major milestone for the monster-collection franchise and knew that pop superstar Katy Perry would be a part of the celebration, but today The Pokémon Company announced another free virtual performance starring rapper and singer Post Malone.

The concert is set to happen on the Pokémon YouTube, Twitch, and website on February 27 at 4 p.m. Pacific / 7 p.m. Eastern. In addition to the performance by Post Malone, The Pokémon Company also teases that fans will want to stick around until the end of the show to learn about more collaborations and surprises. 

You can check out the official Post Malone concert poster below.

If you're unable to make the virtual concert, the day leading up to the event promises various celebratory activities and events happening across Pokémon Sword & Shield, Pokémon Go, and the Pokémon animated series. It would also be somewhat surprising if we didn't get additional information on what's next for the franchise, as well as additional information on New Pokémon Snap. On past Pokémon Days, we've seen everything from first looks at Pokémon Sword & Shield and launches of classic games on then-modern platforms to even the release of a remake of the original Pokémon theatrical film on Netflix and Snapchat filters.

The most recent release in the mainline Pokémon franchise was Pokémon Sword & Shield in 2019. Since that launch, Game Freak has released two expansions for Pokémon Sword & Shield: The Isle of Armor and The Crown Tundra. Prior to Pokémon Sword & Shield, Game Freak remade Pokémon Red & Blue for Switch as Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu & Eevee. This approach has led some to believe that the next announcements will either be new expansions for Pokémon Sword & Shield or additional remakes from other games in the mainline Pokémon RPG series. Unfortunately, it's all guesswork until the big day rolls around on February 27.

Are you impressed with how Pokémon is seemingly pulling out all the stops for its 25th anniversary celebration? What would you like to see on Pokémon Day?

Firewatch celebrates its 5th anniversary today, and developer Campo Santo has been reminiscing about the game’s creation on Twitter. In addition to giving insight into the game’s development and sharing rare concept art, the studio revealed a fun Easter egg from the Switch version that seemingly not many people have seen: its own N64-style platformer. 

An even more rarely seen piece of Firewatch: How closely have you dug into the Nintendo Switch version of the game? Have you truly completed everything on that cart? pic.twitter.com/CmQGpswzXY

— Campo Santo (@camposanto) February 10, 2021

The hidden mini-game has players take control an adorable park ranger and must collect 100 fire sign tokens within a time-limit. It's a simple game and one that doesn't take long to finish, as you're just running down a course to the finish line. To access the game, players have to complete Firewatch’s story to unlock the free roam mode. The video below provides a full walkthrough showing exactly where to go to access the mini-game and the game itself.  

I’m sure some of you are yelling that this is old news (the secret was first uncovered in 2018). That may be, but based on the many surprised responses, it seems fans who only played Firewatch on console or PC had no clue this existed. I certainly didn't. It’s a neat little secret, and it’s always fun to see a cool secret get discovered by a wider audience

Firewatch released in 2016 and is a narrative adventure that puts players in the shoes Henry, a firewatcher stationed in the Wyoming forest. Henry's marriage is on the rocks and during his tenure he forms a friendship with fellow firewatcher, Delilah, and the two bond over the course of the summer. If you haven't played Firewatch, I can't recommend it enough. It's an engaging and beautiful adventure that was one of my favorite games in 2016. As for what's next for Campo Santo, it's hard to tell. The studio postponed development of In The Valley of Gods to work on Half-Life: Alyx. With Alyx out the door, fingers crossed they can get back to finishing that game.