The team behind The Last Of Us has reportedly chosen Kaitlyn Dever to portray Abby Anderson in the season two of the post-apocalyptic horror series.
Los Angeles Magazine contributor Jeff Sneider has written on his blog that sources have alerted him to Dever’s potential casting.
The journalist noted on The InSneider that showrunner Craig Mazin told The L.A. Times in August that he’d found an actress to portray Abby, Ellie’s rival in the HBO series.
Mazin did not respond to a request for comment, nor did UTA, the agency that represents Dever. HBO, meanwhile, declined to comment on the record although sources stressed to Sneider that no one has officially been cast in season two yet.
If Dever is cast in the series, which is an adaptation of the 2013 video game, she’ll join Pedro Pascal (who portrays Joel Miller) and Bella Ramsey (Ellie Williams) in season two. It’s expected to premiere on HBO in 2025.
In the game Abby is positioned as a rival to Ellie, a role that Dever herself was once potentially in the running for after doing a table read as that character. Denver is best known for her roles in Booksmart (2019) and this year’s No One Will Save You.
Meanwhile, Ramsey has discussed how their neurodivergence has shaped their acting craft.
The actor found out they were neurodivergent while they were filming the smash-hit show after “thinking for years” that they were. “[So] to find that out whilst filming this show was super special,” they told Elle earlier this year.
In a new interview with The Times, Ramsey was asked if their neurodivergence influences their acting, to which they said: “Massively.”
“I don’t know if I’d be an actor if it wasn’t for that. One of my things is I’m very perceptive, sometimes too perceptive. I get paralysed because I just see everything – it takes me four hours to get round Tesco’s.”
Ramsey received particular praise for their starring role as 14-year-old protagonist Ellie in the TV adaptation of the popular video game. They appear opposite Pascal’s Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting Ellie to safety amid a zombie apocalypse.