The Last of Us has found its season two villain, and fans of Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie should be scared.
Booksmart actress Kaitlyn Dever has been cast in the role of Abby, one of the most controversial characters in Neil Druckman’s source material. Abby is a pivotal character in the video game whose storyline intersects with Ellie’s and Joel’s in bloody, violent ways. There’s really no way to explain who Abby is and how big of a presence Dever will have in season two without wading into spoiler territory….
…so here’s your warning.
Who Is Abby In The Last Of Us?
In Druckman’s story, Abby is the daughter of Jerry Anderson, a head surgeon working with the Fireflies on a cure for the Cordyceps fungus that has ravaged much of the world. Fans of the show might remember the season finale in which Joel went on a murderous rampage, killing most of the Fireflies in Salt Lake City after discovering their plan to kill Ellie to harness her immunity as some sort of vaccine against the fungus. Abby’s father was one of the doctors caught in the crosshairs and Abby is on a quest for revenge when she’s introduced in the second game. Described as a stoic and capable soldier, Abby’s physicality in the game factored heavily into how much of a threat she presented to both Joel and Ellie. Dever is noticeably less muscular than her on-screen counterpart but for fans worrying the actress won’t be able to embody bone-crushing brutality, showrunner Craig Mazin said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, “We look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material.”
What Will The Last Of Us Season 2 Be About?
The show’s second season will feature a five-year time jump — though whether that happens early on or closer to its finale, we’re still not sure. In the season one finale, Joel and Ellie were headed away from the Fireflies’ home base, presumably back to his brother Tommy and the settlement in Wyoming. Joel lies to Ellie about what happened at the hospital, something will likely drive a wedge between the pair, as will Ellie’s new girlfriend, Dina.
What Is The Release Date For The Last Of Us Season 2?
Last year’s writer’s strike halted production on the show’s second season. The SAG-AFTRA strike delayed things further, though the writer’s room was able to come together to star working on season two’s scripts. According to Mazin, the cast will return for filming in early February, which means it will likely be late 2024 or early 2025 before we see Dever and company on our screens.
