HBO recently debuted an intense full trailer for the second season of The Last of Us, and we now have a new poster and some promo stills to go with it.
The key art features returning protagonists Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), while the images spotlight several supporting characters as well as the season's new antagonist (well, depending on your perspective), Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).
Abby Anderson might well go down as one of the most despised video game characters in history (you'll find out why soon enough), and Dever was fully aware that taking on the role would open the door to a certain amount of backlash.
"Well, it's hard not to see those things on the internet," the Apple Cider Vinegar star tells Screen Rant. "It's hard not to stop myself from looking at it every once in a while, especially going into this, for sure. And I want to do this character justice and make the fans proud by bringing her to life in this kind of way."
"But my main focus was just the collaboration between [showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin], and making sure I was really getting to the core of who she is and what drives her and her emotional state, her anger and her frustration and her grief and all of that," she added. "I wanted to make sure that that was what I was focusing most of my energy on."
HBO has also announced that the recent trailer scored 158 million global views, securing its spot as HBO and Max Original's most-watched trailer ever.
Other new cast members for season 2 include Young Mazino (Beef) as Jesse, Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick) as Manny, Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) as Mel, Tati Gabrielle (You) as Nora, and Spencer Lord (Heartland) as Owen.
The Last of Us is set 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed and centers on the relationship between Joel, a smuggler in this new world, and Ellie, a teenager who may be key to a cure for a deadly pandemic. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle the 14-year-old girl out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey as they traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Season 1's cast also featured Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Anna Torv as Tess, Nico Parker as Sarah, Murray Bartlett as Frank, Nick Offerman as Bill, Melanie Lynskey as Kathleen, Storm Reid as Riley, Merle Dandridge as Marlene, Jeffrey Pierce as Perry, Lamar Johnson as Henry, Keivonn Woodard as Sam, Graham Greene as Marlon, Elaine Miles as Florence, Ashley Johnson as Anna, and Troy Baker as James.
Filming took place in Vancouver, since a significant part of the story in The Last of Us Part II game is set in the Pacific Northwest.
The Last of Us is written and executive produced by Mazin and Druckmann. Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam also executive produce.
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