After weeks of rumors, it’s finally been confirmed that Booksmart and No One Will Save You actor Kaitlyn Dever will play opposite Bella Ramsey’s Ellie in Max’s second season of The Last of Us as Abby. Max initially announced Dever’s casting on its social channels without naming her role, then the original game’s developer Naughty Dog confirmed on its own account that Dever will play Abby, the once-secret second protagonist of The Last of Us Part II.
Director and writer Neil Druckmann has confirmed the second season will be a direct adaptation of The Last of Us Part II, which includes a duelling story that swaps between the perspectives of Ellie and Abby. So it seems likely that Ramsey will lead chunks of the second season as Ellie, with other episodes focusing on Dever as Abby. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if the season tweaks parts of the story, as the first season took some liberties with the source material, like the Bill and Frank story.
Abby has been a divisive character for The Last of Us fans, given her explosive role in the story that we won’t spoil here, but she’s also probably the best character in The Last of Us Part II who best embodies the game’s themes. The question is, how buff is Dever gonna get for this role? Abby is a hulking powerhouse of a woman, and if shooting is set to start on February 12, she better get started lifting. Although, given The Last of Us Part II featured some flashbacks of Abby before she started really hitting the gym, it would make some sense for the show to perhaps shoot some of those scenes early on and give Dever some time to tap into some method acting and take up Abby’s workout routine.
This isn’t the first time Dever has worked with Naughty Dog, as she also played Cassie Drake, Nathan Drake’s daughter, in the epilogue of Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. That means she could be at least somewhat familiar with a few members of the team she’ll be working with on the second season of the show. The Last of Us’ second season will premiere sometime in 2025.
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