“The Last of Us” season 2 just filled one of its biggest roles.
As announced by Variety, Kaitlyn Dever is officially joining the HBO adaptation of the beloved post-apocalyptic video game as Abigail “Abby” Anderson. While newcomers to the franchise will be unfamiliar with the character, who was absent from the first game and therefore not in season 1, fans of “The Last of Us Part II” game will be have been anticipating this announcement since season 1 wrapped.
Abby is a main character in the second game, and season 2 would have been impossible without her. By casting Dever in the role, HBO has filled a key piece of the puzzle for season 2 and can hopefully begin production soon.
This also fulfills a dream for Dever and fans of the series alike. Dever had been fan-cast for the role of Ellie for years thanks to the combination of her acting talent and physical resemblance to the character. In a feature for The Hollywood Reporter prior to the debut of season 1, game and show creator Neil Druckmann said that Dever even did a table read for Ellie. Even though Bella Ramsey was ultimately cast as Ellie, it’s clear that the show’s creatives liked what they saw from Dever. And given the excellence of Ramsey’s performance in season 1, having her and Dever instead of one or the other should be a major win for everyone when season 2 finally debuts.
The Last of Us season 2: Who is Abby?
Kaitlyn Dever has been cast as Abby for The Last of Us on HBO season 2. pic.twitter.com/kceRHoeX4VJanuary 9, 2024
Quick spoiler alert for anyone who wants to go in blind to the next season of “The Last of Us” — or hasn’t seen the first season — we’re about to get into some spoilers. Turn back now if you want to play it safe.
At the end of season 1, which lines up with the end of the first game, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie escape the Fireflies and head back to the Jackson, Wyoming community where they found Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) earlier in the season. Joel has just slaughtered an entire compound of Fireflies, a militia group working to create a cure for the Cordyceps pandemic because their cure would have killed Ellie.
One of the people killed in that raid? Jerry Anderson, the surgeon tasked with operating on Ellie. In the second game, and presumably in the second season, Abby, his daughter, will hunt down Joel in a quest for revenge. She’s a major character in the second game, so I won’t spoil anything further. Just know that she’ll be integral to the second season of “The Last of Us,” in a role on par with Joel and Ellie.
