Actress Kaitlyn Dever, who takes on the role of Abby in HBO's highly anticipated "The Last of Us" Season 2, has opened up about the challenges of portraying a character surrounded by controversy. Dever admits it's tough to resist checking out reactions online, where Abby's character has stirred significant negativity and even led to real-world harassment of Naughty Dog employees, including Neil Druckmann and actress Laura Bailey, who voiced Abby in the video game. The situation escalated to the point where HBO provided Dever with extra security during filming to ensure her safety.
Isabel Merced, who plays Dina in Season 2, commented on the absurdity of the backlash, stating, "There's so many strange people in this world because there are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person. Just a reminder: not a real person."
The Last of Us Season 2 Character Posters
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In a recent interview with ScreenRant, Dever shared her thoughts on the anticipation surrounding Abby's portrayal. "Well, it's hard not to see those things on the internet," she said. "It's hard not to stop myself from looking at it every once in a while, especially going into this, for sure. And I want to do this character justice and make the fans proud by bringing her to life in this kind of way."
Dever emphasized her dedication to understanding Abby's emotional depth, focusing on her collaboration with Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin to capture the essence of the character's anger, frustration, and grief.
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Last month, Druckmann revealed that the HBO adaptation of "The Last of Us Part 2" would not feature Abby as the muscly character from the game, as the show's narrative prioritizes drama over the mechanical distinctions required in the video game. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Druckmann and Mazin explained that Dever did not need to bulk up for the role because Abby's physicality was less crucial to the story's focus on emotional depth.
Druckmann noted, "We would've struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role. In the game, you have to play both [Ellie and Abby] and we need them to play differently. We needed Ellie to feel smaller and kind of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play more like Joel in that she's almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things. That doesn't play as big of a role in this version of the story because there's not as much violent action moment to moment. It's more about the drama."
Mazin added, "I personally think there is an amazing opportunity here to delve into someone who is perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but whose spirit is stronger. And then the question is: 'Where does her formidable nature come from and how does it manifest?' That's something that will be explored now and later."
The mention of "now and later" hints at HBO's plans to extend "The Last of Us Part 2" beyond a single season. Unlike Season 1, which covered the entire first game, Season 2 will have a "natural breakpoint" after seven episodes, setting the stage for further exploration of the story in potential future seasons.
