HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’ Readies Its Golf Swing, Casts ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ Star Kaitlyn Dever As Abby Anderson
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In further solidifying the fact that a dance with arguably video gaming’s most pretentious moment is on the horizon, HBO’s The Last Of Us has officially announced its casting of the franchise’s resident golf pro, Abby Anderson
As first reported by TVLine‘s Kimberly Roots, actress Kaitlyn Dever, perhaps best known for her starring roles as Amy Antsler in 2019’s Booksmart and Zoe Murphy in the 2021 film adapatation of Dear Evan Hansen, has been tasked with the role of bringing the original video game series’ widely-rejected sequel deuteragonist to life on the small screen.
Per an official description of Abby’s television incarnation provided to Roots, Abby will be portrayed as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.”
Word remains out on whether or not Dever will go through any significant body-buidling regiments prior to filming.
Praising Dever’s casting in a statement provided to the news outlet, series showrunner Craig Mazin joined executive producer and Naughty Dog president Neil Druckmann asserted, “Our casting process for Season 2 has been identical to Season 1: We look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material.”
“Nothing matters more than talent,” they added, “and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro [Pascal], Bella [Ramsey] and the rest of our family.”
Given that the first season of HBO’s The Last of Us ended on a near identical note as the first game in the franchise – Faced with a choice between allowing the Fireflies to dissect Ellie and study her unique DNA in service of a potential cure for the Cordyceps virus or slaughtering the entire group and saving his surrogate daughter’s life, Joel chooses the latter – it comes as little surprise that the series’ second season would turn its attention towards Joel and Ellie’s subsequent outing.
However, with their commitment to this story direction, a question arises regarding star Pedro Pascal’s future with the series.
As players – or anyone who used social media in 2020 – already know, The Last of Us Part II beats audiences over the head in providing a definitive ending to Joel’s story.
But how does HBO go about staying true to the source material in light of the fact that Pascal’s ‘star power’ serves as a significant draw to the series for mainstream audiences?
Do they actually follow through, or branch off into ‘alternate timeline’ territory by keeping him alive?
While a definitive answer to these questions remains to be seen, the aforementioned Mazin and Druckmann previously appeared to indicate that the series will be erring on the side of ‘keep Pascal alive’.
Asked by GQ UK‘s Sam White in March 2023 if “the next season [will]” span the entire course of the second game, Mazin asserted, “No. No Way,” with Druckmann confirming in follow-up, “It’s more than one season.”
Further pressed by White as to whether they could reveal how many seasons their adaptation of The Last of Us II might take, Mazin playfully declared, “You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct.”
To this end, Druckmann then revealed, “Some of the stuff I’m most excited for [in Part 2] are the changes we’ve discussed and seeing the story come to life again in this other version. And I think it’s exciting because it leans into those feelings you had from the game, really heavily, in a new way.”
As of writing, Abby’s Wild Ride is set to smash its way onto HBO sometime in 2025.
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