It's hardly a spoiler to say that The Last of Us season 2 will adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II video game, though HBO plans to milk the hit franchise for all its worth by spreading the story across two seasons.
In fairness, it makes sense given the sequel's ambitious scope and for fans, all eyes are on who the show casts as Abigail "Abby" Anderson. The character remains incredibly divisive - for reasons we won't mention here - but the role will require a strong actress capable of exploring Abby's complexities in a story arc that's likely to see her go from antagonist to protagonist.
A member of the Fireflies broken by tragedy when Joel Miller killed her father, Abby later makes it her mission to avenge his demise. That brings her into conflict with some familiar faces and what happens next...well, it still hurts to think about.
In a new story from the Los Angeles Times (via GameFragger.com), there's an update on where things stand with casting Abby.
"Once the series is back in production, key questions abound about the second season, such as who will play Abbie, a new character who is a rival to Ellie," the site explains. "The role has been cast, but [Craig] Mazin isn’t dropping any spoilers, and he won’t address complaints that the first season could have used more scenes with the fungus-headed infected to juice the drama a bit."
With that, we have confirmation she's been cast.
Despite reports Shannon Berry (Hunters) has been cast, it appears Black Widow and Thunderbolts star Florence Pugh was also in the running prior to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. As this scooper points out, one of them must have got it...we're just going to have to wait and see which of them it is!
The full interview is worth checking out, particularly for the showrunner's explanation for the infected's limited role in The Last of Us' first season. He believes too much of them means the show "gets too actiony and you get used to them and they’re no longer scary because they’re there all the time."
"If you can escape the infected 12 times, how scary are they? If you escape them three times over nine episodes, each one of those encounters better be gripping. When it comes to the infected, better to be more like the shark in ‘Jaws’ than the white noise you stop noticing"
The Last of Us season 2 doesn't currently have a confirmed premiere date but is unlikely to return until 2025.