‘The Last of Us’ Actor Gabriel Luna Is Actively Interested in Joining ‘Star Wars’
Gabriel Luna is back in the public zeitgeist after his turn as Tommy in HBO’s The Last of Us. The actor has been making the rounds promoting the show, and found himself expressing his active interest in one day joining Star Wars, during which he showed just how big of a Star Wars fan he apparently is.
During a recent appearance on The Last of Pods (via ComicBook.com), Luna told a story about how he once personally campaigned to Dave Filoni for a role in Star Wars. He said:
“I wrote a letter to Dave [Filoni] and a while back and it’s a dream of mine… I mean, there’s all kinds of possibilities there. I was just talking to Neil at the party and I was like, “Yeah, Neil [Druckmann], until we do that, until that time comes when it’s time for Star Wars,” and I’m just wishful thinking and hoping, but once again, I will always prepare as if I have the job. If that day should ever come, I’ll be ready.”
Luna is no stranger to franchises. Besides The Last of Us, Luna has previously taken on the mantle of Ghost Rider in Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and as the villainous REV-9 terminator in Terminator: Dark Fate.
When it comes to Star Wars, Luna once wanted to be cast as Lothal’s resident troublemaker-turned-Jedi-hero, Ezra Bridger. He went into more detail as to why he wanted the (at the time) hypothetical live-action role:
“This was me throwing my hat in for a certain Ezra Bridger. This was years ago, not ever knowing if they would ever do anything with Ezra… But it was just, that’s one, he’s probably my, besides Luke, he’s my favorite character. Well, actually, I’m sorry, R2, Luke, Ezra Bridger.”
The actor gives the impression he did all of this before the idea of Star Wars: Rebels in live-action was ever a prospect. The role of Ezra would eventually go to Eman Esfandi for the character’s reported appearance in the upcoming Ahsoka series.
Luna isn’t done though. If anything, he’s just getting started, because his new goal is to manifest a High Republic series. He even knows what character he wants to play:
“Then, of course I’m a big fan of the new High Republic stuff. There’s another great character in that. I don’t know if anybody’s ever… I don’t want to mention it now here, but there’s another great character there that I think I might be angling towards… Elzar Mann.”
Those familiar with Mann and his complexities know the Jedi Master would make for a meaty role that an actor could sink their teeth into. All that being said, an actor or actress campaigning for a role is nothing new, but Luna’s dream to become Elzar could theoretically come true.
Kathleen Kennedy has previously discussed the possibilities of the High Republic era going beyond the page. She stated that any future project “all starts with the word”, indicating that they depend on the success of the novels and comics currently set in the High Republic era. Some of that future also probably rests on the shoulders of the success of The Acolyte, but more live-action projects seem inevitable at some point. Whether Elzar Mann or Luna would be involved remains a mystery, but it never hurts to shoot your shot.
New episodes of HBO’s The Last of Us, with Luna as Tommy Miller and The Mandalorian‘s Pedro Pascal as his brother Joel, air every Sunday on HBO Max — the finale will drop on March 12.
Nate uses his love for Star Wars and movies in general as a way to cope with the pain of being a Minnesota sports fan. When he's not at the theater, you can usually find Nate reading a comic, listening to an audiobook, or playing a Mario video game for the 1,000th time.
