We might not have an official release date just yet for The Last Of Us Season 2 — like many productions, filming was delayed due to the 2023 WGA strike and SAG-AFTRA strike — but we do have some fresh casting intel, with series star Bella Ramsey offering up their reaction to this season's newest acting additions, specifically Kaitlyn Dever. That's because, in an interview, the young actor revealed the amusing story about how they met the Booksmart actress, and why they had to keep it on the down low.
Ramsey — who plays strong-willed teen Ellie in HBO's adaptation of the beloved video game franchise, opposite Pedro Pascal's hardened survivor Joel — recently revealed in an interview with GamesRadar+ how they first met Kaitlyn Dever. The actress is taking on the much-anticipated role of Abby in the drama's second season, and the Ellie actress had this to say about how they met:
I’ve met Kaitlyn once in the most stupid place [at] a gala...I met Kaitlyn there very briefly when we were waiting for our cars. I knew they were talking to her about casting at that point, so it was just sort of quietly like ‘Hey’ and shared numbers and stuff.
Obviously, the two had to keep their interactions on the down low. At the time, Kaitlyn Dever hadn't been officially cast as Abby yet. It sounds like the last thing Ramsey wanted to do was accidentally spill the casting beans. So, they quietly exchanged numbers. However, now they can praise each other as much as they want!
Described as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved,” Dever's Abby is meant to have an antagonistic relationship with Ramsey's Ellie, a dynamic that thankfully did not play out between the performers in real life.
Instead, Ramsey disclosed that working with Dever — an actress who, ironically, was dream-cast by fans to portray the character of Ellie in the post-apocalyptic drama, though producers reportedly wanted a younger actor, per The Hollywood Reporter— was an "excellent" experience:
She’s excellent, Isabel and Young as well, I’m really excited to get going with all of them.
The 20-year-old star also praised their other new castmate Isabel Merced — who previously starred with Dever in 2022's Rosaline and will play Ellie's Season 2 love interest Dina, who HBO calls "a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit." They also showed some love for Beef alum Young Mazino, who will portray Jesse, "a pillar of his community who puts everyone else's needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost."
As for the new additions to The Last Of Us cast, Ramsey said they're "incredibly happy" having a "whole new bunch of people come and join the family." However, they also previously told Comicbook.com's The Last of Pods podcast that they didn't want to go into filming Season 2 "comparing it to the experience of the first season":
I’m really excited. It still feels surreal to me that it’s going to go again. But also… I don’t want to go into it comparing it to the experience of the first season… Season 1 of The Last of Us was like the best year of my life and it’s not gonna be the same. So I just have to go into it being like, ‘This is Season 2 and I loved Season 1, but this is going to be different.’ I just want to be back in Canada with Craig Mazin, and Pedro [Pascal] for a little bit. It’s gonna be really nice. I’m really excited.
Given how well-received Season 1 of the HBO drama was — it won eight Primetime Emmy Awards out of 24 nominations — and how excited fans are to see Kaitlyn Dever in The Last Of Us universe, we don't think Bella has anything to worry about, especially now that they don't have to keep the fact that they know each other a secret.
CinemaBlend will keep you posted on everything related to the 2024 TV schedule and when you'll be able to see Ellie and Abby face off onscreen in The Last Of Us Season 2. In the meantime, you can catch up with the series through a Max subscription.
