One of the most anticipated pop culture returns of 2025 is almost here: The Last of Us, HBO’s hit video game adaptation starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal. Talking about season two has been a particularly delicate matter for those involved in the series, in the interest of not spoiling the plot for viewers who might not have played The Last of Us Part II game.
But there’s no avoiding certain elements, like the fact that Kaitlyn Dever is joining the cast to play the key role of Abby. In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin talked about the character—carefully.
As it turns out, Dever has a history with The Last of Us, if not specifically with Abby. Back when the game was being considered for a feature film adaptation, Druckmann revealed, actors gathered for an early table read—including Dever, who was then the right age for Ramsey’s character, Ellie. They stayed in touch, and “I believe Craig had the idea of using Kaitlyn for Abby when we talked about season two,” Druckmann said. “The reason we cast Kaitlyn is because she’s an incredible actor… We value performance over anything else.”
Dever’s talents will get a workout playing the complex character, and she’ll be putting her own spin on Abby beyond what fans of the game have experienced. The Last of Us showrunners are already trying to get ahead of anyone who wants to complain about the differences between “game Abby” and “show Abby,” including the fact that Dever is smaller in stature than Laura Bailey, who portrayed her in the game.
“There’s not as much violent action moment to moment,” Druckmann said of the series version of the character. “It’s more about the drama. I’m not saying there’s no action here. It’s just, again, different priorities and how you approach it.”
He continued, very vaguely revealing a tiny bit more about Abby as a character. “When you try to pick a hero, it’s tough because we’re human beings, we’re not heroes. For every heroic act, there’s someone who suffers on the other side who may see you reasonably as a villain. When you look at Kaitlyn, there’s just something in her eyes where, even no matter what she’s experiencing, you connect. It was important that we found somebody that we could connect to the way we connect to Bella.”
Mazin noted that Dever’s Abby is “perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but [her] spirit is stronger. And then the question is, ‘Where does her formidable nature come from and how does it manifest?’ That’s something that will be explored now and later.”
The Last of Us returns to HBO and Max in April.
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