HBO’s The Last of Us casts its Abby

The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us is on the horizon, with the season set to adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II. It has now been announced that Kaitlyn Dever has been cast in the live-action series as Abby, one of the game’s main characters.

The casting announcement comes courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter. In a joint statement, showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said that “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.” Dever is known for her fairly prolific film and TV acting career, particularly for leading roles in the film Booksmart and the recent series Dopesick. She also has an existing relationship with Sony, having voiced and provided motion capture for the role of Cassie Drake in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Reportedly, Dever had originally auditioned for the role of Ellie in the show, however producers sought a younger actor for the role and cast Bella Ramsey instead.

While the show’s second season remains in development, HBO’s The Last of Us has won 8 accolades at the recent Creative Arts Emmy awards. In addition to several awards in technical categories, such as Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup, Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie and Outstanding Main Title Design, Storm Reid and Nick Offerman each won Outstanding Guest Actress and Actor in a Drama Series respectively for their amazing one-episode performances as Riley and Bill in the episodes “Left Behind” and “Long, Long Time”.

It may still be a while off until the second season of HBO’s The Last of Us series airs. Production is expected to commence later this year, with the second season to come out in 2025. For those of you seeking a The Last of Us fix to tide you over, The Last of Us Part II Remastered will be coming out on PS5 on January 19th 2024.