If you’ve been anywhere near Reddit lately, especially the r/ThelastofusHBO hive, chances are you’ve tripped over the Cailee Spaeny-for-Ellie talk. The debate keeps flaring up and it’s catching steam for a wild reason: some fans genuinely believe Spaeny could pull off a better Ellie than anyone HBO’s ever considered. Big words! Is there any actual fire beneath all that smoke? Or is it just another viral wish list lighting up the clicker-infested wasteland? Let’s climb down the rabbit hole, fact-check flamethrower in hand, and see where this latest dream cast stands.
Reddit’s Spore Cloud: Spaeny-mania Takes Over
Honestly, Spaeny’s name started popping up faster than spores in a damp tunnel once May 2025 hit. On April 14, user @NeverTrustFedra dropped a meme comparing her and Ellie, and basically broke the upvote counter—over 18,000 fans upvoted and the comment section exploded with speculation: “She nails Ellie’s whole ‘sly smile under a storm cloud’ look.” The meme lit a spark that hasn’t fizzled. In weekly mod recaps and discussion threads, Spaeny started popping up in poll after poll. Fans compared photos, debated her acting chops, and just generally frothed themselves into a frenzy.
Why does she keep hitting the top of these lists? Three reasons usually bubble up:
- She already owns that “tough but tender” energy Ellie needs.
- She’s proven she can scrap and survive through chaos (hello, Pacific Rim and now Alien: Romulus).
- She maintains that age-flexible vibe, reading older or younger depending on hair, lighting, or the mood that day.
But there’s a dark side here—because for every pro-Spaeny post, a counter-wave rises: “Bella Ramsey can’t get swapped out mid-stream!” “Alien might tie up Spaeny’s schedule forever!” So yes, the buzz is booming, but it’s not all rainbows and Clicker cupcakes.
Who Is This Cailee Spaeny and Why All the Hype?
Let’s hit pause and talk facts, no speculation needed. Cailee Spaeny hails from Springfield, Missouri (not Boston, so no Ellie accent by birth). Born July 24, 1998, she broke through with Pacific Rim Uprising—where she showed she could lead, yell at robots, and sidestep digital monster claws all before 21. Then she zipped through “Bad Times at the El Royale,” “On the Basis of Sex,” “Devs,” and played alongside Kate Winslet in “Mare of Easttown.” Not too shabby, right?
2023 turned out to be her banner year. Sofia Coppola cast her as Priscilla Presley in “Priscilla.” Spaeny walked away from Venice with the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, then scored her first Golden Globe nomination by early 2024. This isn’t just hype; it’s golden statuette-wielding hype. And in 2025, she’s starring in “Alien: Romulus,” which means she’s adding “Space horror survivor” to her already intense resume.
You don’t win festival trophies and lead giant franchises by winging it. As one Redditor said, “She’s got the weapon skills, the scene-chewing, and the freckles. What more could you want for Ellie?”
Spaeny vs. Bella: Reality Check Time
Here’s where things get spicy. Bella Ramsey, the official Ellie since day one, bagged a 2024 Emmy nomination for her performance in season one. Showrunner Craig Mazin isn’t shy about his opinions either—he said straight up in a November 2024 Variety interview, “Bella is Ellie for as long as we make the show.” Take him at his word because nobody at HBO is dropping recast hints, and season two already wrapped filming way back on March 12, 2025.
For Spaeny to even get a chance, two wild scenarios would need to play out:
- HBO leaps way ahead in time for, say, “Part III” Ellie. Think grey hair and deeper scars.
- Or, Ramsey moves on for reasons unknown, forcing the showrunners to shuffle their cast.
Neither looks likely now, but hey, Hollywood never stops mutating.
But Wait—Wasn’t Kaitlyn Dever Supposed to Be Ellie?
If you’ve followed fan castings for more than five minutes, you know Kaitlyn Dever’s name. Some people would have painted her freckles on if it meant she’d snagged the part. Dever literally auditioned for Ellie during an abandoned “Last of Us” movie pitch and even read lines at the 2014 Comic-Con panel. People kept chanting her name through every Reddit poll—until, plot twist, she landed as Abby for season two. That casting finally dropped in Vanity Fair on January 4, 2025, almost closing the chapter on “Dever-as-Ellie” dreams.
With Dever as Abby, fan fiction writers everywhere started recalculating their headcanons. But in a way, it neatly closes the book on her Ellie candidacy—she’s in the show, just not wielding Ellie’s knife.
The Rest of the Fan Club: Who Else Got Floated?
Reddit rarely stops at two names. The carousel spun out a bunch more.
- Maisie Williams: She met with HBO during the show’s early gestation. She even confirmed on the “Happy Sad Confused” podcast that she’d aged out by 2023, but her Arya Stark energy still looms large in the conversation.
- Sophia Lillis: Think of her from “It” or Netflix’s “I Am Not Okay With This.” She’s got the right look and age, but her schedule’s packed with CW’s “Nancy Drew” spinoff until at least late 2025.
- Elsie Fisher: “Eighth Grade” basically exists to prove she can capture awkward, raw teen vibes—which, let’s face it, is half of Ellie’s charm. Fisher’s big snag is a spellbinding Broadway run in “Matilda” that just keeps stretching out.
- Others? Lulu Wilson (horror-favorite), Milly Alcock (Game of Thrones crossover bait), Thomasin McKenzie (versatile and intense).
Yet, for all their credentials, none snag the same viral attention Spaeny now enjoys.
Why the Spaeny Hype Actually Makes Sense
Let’s connect the dots here:
- Nobody doubts Spaeny can act. Awards say, “yes, queen.”
- She’s agile in survival roles, already proven through science fiction and horror.
- Her look—those sharp cheekbones and freckled skin—aligns uncannily well with the game version of Ellie.
- She’s 27 now, which means she could easily play late-teen Ellie or even a time-jumped, older Ellie with no aging tricks.
- The Hollywood synergy is real. HBO already knows her from “Mare of Easttown,” and her “Alien: Romulus” hype will only make her even more marketable.
Plus, TikTok. Run a search for #SpaenyEllie. Scroll through 212 million (!) hits. Fans pump out deepfakes, face-swaps, and trailer mashups that rack up millions of likes overnight. The hunger is real—even if it mostly lives on screens.
Obstacles (Because, of Course, There Are Some)
Let’s replace the rose-tinted glasses with some harsh real-world glare:
- Spaeny’s “Alien” commitment isn’t small. Deadline reports she’s likely on the hook for two sequels if “Romulus” explodes at the box office.
- There’s no sign Bella’s leaving, and Mazin says he’d “rather delay production than swap actors mid-arc.”
- Hollywood contracts and franchise measuring contests (Disney vs. HBO) could block the move.
- Spaeny’s accent comes standard in Missouri drawl, so she’d have to fine-tune the voice to hit the Boston-Colorado tone that makes Ellie, well, Ellie.
- Last but not least: the fans. Because if there’s one thing people hate, it’s a recast in the middle of a story they’re already emotionally invested in.
What’s Actually Possible?
So, where does this leave us? Here’s your cheat sheet:
- Season two is done. Spaeny isn’t in it.
- Season three? Not on the table yet, but Mazin has said they could split Part II’s story over multiple seasons.
- Naughty Dog keeps dropping breadcrumbs about writing “Part III,” but the earliest that could air is maybe 2030. By then, who knows which faces grace our screens? Spaeny will be 32, so if Part III jumps ahead in time, maybe, just maybe, it lines up.
Clickers in the Corner: The Wild World of Deepfakes
And if the studio never picks up the phone for Spaeny, don’t worry—fan edits have it covered. TikTokers fake cast her by the digital dozen. YouTubers stitch Spaeny’s face over Ramsey’s performances. The results are, honestly, sometimes so convincing you need to rewatch just to spot the seams. Love it or hate it, that trend keeps the theory alive longer than a certain Boston quarantine zone.
When Bloaters Fly: What’s Next in the Great Ellie Debate?
Time to lay it out plain: Cailee Spaeny could be a fantastic Ellie—on paper, in Photoshop, and probably even on screen. She ticks every box: looks, skills, age, even previous HBO cred. She’s not some wild outsider; she’s critically respected and battle-tested by sci-fi monsters both robotic and tentacled.
On the other hand, Bella Ramsey isn’t going anywhere unless something truly seismic hits the production. Mazin and Druckmann stand behind her, fans are backing her Emmy nod, and the storylines for season two run locked. Spaeny’s a viral phenomenon, not a sure thing.
Yet, for all that, Spaeny doesn’t fade away. With every new deepfake, every meme, every Venice statuette, she keeps one foot in the “what if?” territory. In this fandom, maybe that’s enough. Maybe it’s just fun to speculate with the spores flying. Or maybe, if Naughty Dog pens a grittier, older Ellie—one tired of clickers and even more haunted by loss—Cailee Spaeny finally gets her shot.
So, where do you stand? Would you swap Ramsey for Spaeny in a heartbeat? Or are you digging in your boots for the current Ellie? Drop your most unhinged casting dreams in the comments. After all, in the apocalypse, nothing stays settled for long.
