As we all know, with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA currently on strike, the production of major TV shows and movies has been put on pause. One of the biggest ones impacted is The Last of Us, the hit HBO adaptation of the PlayStation game which was gearing up for season two. Co-showrunner Craig Mazin said that before the strike, he’d already written the season’s first episode, and he may have also done something else hugely impactful to the season: cast its third lead.
Season two of The Last of Us will begin to adapt The Last of Us Part II, the 2020 video game sequel to the 2013 original to which the show’s first season was ultra faithful. In that game, besides Joel and Ellie, we meet a woman named Abby who becomes not only a main character, but a playable character (for a spoiler-filled breakdown of Abby’s role and importance, check out this piece on the game). So, it makes sense that casting her was one of the first and biggest hurdles for season two.
“Abby was the first role that we wanted to tackle,” Mazin told the Hollywood Reporter. “We’ve got a pretty good track record of making major cast announcements and people going ‘really?’ which will probably continue. So people may disagree, but I think we got it right so far and the audience seems to feel we got it right and the Academy seems to feel we got it right.” The Last of Us got 24 Emmy nominations, hence that last comment.
Those quotes came on the end of the reporter asking Mazin if he’s cast Abby yet and Mazin replying “Maybe” while, apparently, blushing. “The strike stopped us in our tracks,” Mazin added. “Things were in process.” Which certainly makes it seem like they’ve got their Abby, but can’t make it official until the strikes have ended.
Another fascinating season two nugget in the interview is that Mazin walked back previous implications that The Last of Us Part II would become two seasons. He casually mentioned four total seasons and when asked about it replied diplomatically with “What I can certainly confirm is that that story does not fit into one season.” So maybe the game, which is obviously very eventful, is getting beefed up even more.
Who do you think is the perfect Abby for The Last of Us season two?