HBO has confirmed reports from November 2023 that said Kaitlyn Dever was the network’s choice to play Abby Anderson in The Last of Us Season 2. The network announced it via social media on Tuesday, and co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann released the following statement through the trades:
“Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material. Nothing matters more than talent, and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro, Bella and the rest of our family.”
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Production on season 2 is set to begin on February 12 in Canada, and will probably go on for many months. The second season will be adapting The Last of Us Part II, though Mazin has already confirmed that the story of the second game does not fit into a single season. It’s unknown if it will take two or three seasons to adapt it, though.
Deadline is saying that this is the first of three key roles to be filled ahead of the production start. Season 1 figured out a lot of its cast and even scripts while shooting, so it’s not entirely unheard of for this series to start shooting while they are still casting. While they didn’t go into specifics, we assume the other two key roles are Dina, Ellie’s love interest, and Jesse, another resident at Jackson who plays a pivotal role in the plot.
Who is Abby Anderson in The Last of Us?
This is a tricky question to answer without getting into spoilers, but we’ll do our best here. Regardless, we’ll raise a minor warning for those who do not wish to know anything about the story.
The second game of The Last of Us is divided in two, with Ellie (played by Ashley Johnson in the game, Bella Ramsey in the HBO show) taking over the first half, and Abby (Laura Bailey in the game) taking over the second half.
We’ll refrain from plot specifics here, but the point is that these two characters are set up as rivals early on in the story of the game. After they spend one scene together, they do not see each other until the midpoint of the game, when the switch happens. If the first game was a two-hander between Joel and Ellie, in many ways, Part II is a two-hander between Abby and Ellie, even if Joel is still a big presence in the story.
How HBO is going to adapt the second game remains a mystery. As mentioned above, Abby is MIA during the first half of the game. If Kaitlyn Dever is going to have a big role in season 2, then the structure of the show cannot be the same as the game’s. Or could they, perhaps, shoot both seasons 2 and 3 simultaneously? Another possibility is that season 2 will still be Ellie’s journey, but Abby will have a bigger presence (somehow).
Pedro Pascal Is Returning to The Last of Us Season 2
Even though Joel has a smaller role to play in the second game, his presence is felt throughout the entire story. However, he’s still there, and Pedro Pascal will be reuniting with Bella Ramsey in a few episodes of season 2 — their scenes together are some of the most beautiful ever captured in a video game. (In particular, the second-to-last scene of the game is an all-timer.)
Pascal’s schedule is pretty packed, though. He’s part of Zach Cregger’s Weapons, which is set for a Feb. 20-April 18 shoot, coinciding with the first couple of months of filming for The Last of Us season 2. Since most of Joel’s scenes take place in Jackson, where characters like Dina and Jesse (who haven’t been cast yet) are also found, it’s safe to assume they might start somewhere else in the narrative.
Pascal was also in negotiations with Marvel Studios last year to play Mr. Fantastic in Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four, and those seemed complicated enough because of his 2024 schedule. And now, coinciding with the Kaitlyn Dever announcement, Lucasfilm announced a new Star Wars movie titled The Mandalorian & Grogu, which Pascal has already confirmed on Instagram he’ll be a part of. In the third season of the Disney+ series he merely voiced the title character, but would he want to be more involved when they are doing a feature film?
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Production on The Last of Us Season 2 is expected to start in February in Vancouver. The new season does not yet have an official launch date. The first season is streaming now on Max.
About The Last of Us
Release Date: Jan. 15, 2023 (Season 1); Season 2 TBA
Created by: Craig Mazin and Neill Druckman
Executive producers: Craig Mazin, Neill Druckman, Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam
Production: Sony Pictures Television, PlayStation Production, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog
Distribution: HBO, Max
Cast: Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Barlett, Nick Offerman, Melanie Lynskey, Storm Reid, Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Ashley Johnson, and Troy Baker
Synopsis (Season 1): The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
What do you think of this announcement? How excited are you for The Last of Us season 2? Who are your fan casts for Dina and Jesse? Let us know on our Discord and stay tuned for more The Last of Us season 2 updates on our social media!
SOURCE: Max on Twitter, Deadline
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