First look at Ellie & Dina's Sapphic love story in The 'Last of Us' season 2
The information about the second season of The Last of Us has come in drips and drabs — we found out that Catherine O’Hara was going to be a guest star and that Pedro Pascal finished shooting his scenes in March — but we’ve gotten surprisingly few details about main character Ellie’s upcoming Sapphic relationship. Until now!
While it feels like it’s been YEARS since the first season of HBO’s hit show wrapped up, it’s only been a little over a year, but now we are finally getting a sneak peek at an older version of Ellie and newcomer Isabela Merced as Dina, who will become Ellie’s love interest.
A batch of four brand new images from the set of The Last of Us reveals a grownup Ellie — season two will take place five years after the events of the first season — in what looks like a forest with Dina. You can see Ellie in a green jacket with her hair half up instead of the signature ponytail she wore in season one, and Dina is wearing her dark hair down and sporting a late ‘70s-style puffer jacket.
Ellie and Dina on set of The Last of Us HBO Season 2 💙 pic.twitter.com/XNsBPzdguK
— DomTheBomb (@DomTheBombYT) May 12, 2024
Not only did the first season of the smash-hit video game adaptation introduce us to internet daddy Pedro Pascal’s character Joel, but nonbinary actor Bella Ramsey was catapulted to stardom because of their fantastic portrayal of Ellie.
The first season of The Last of Us already spotlighted Ellie’s lesbian relationship with Riley, but season two will pair her with her girlfriend, Dina. In the past, Ramsey talked about being excited that Ellie’s queer identity would be explored in the first season. “When the script came through of Riley and Ellie’s story, I was very pleased,” Ramsey told PinkNews. “What was cool about it as well is that it was really relevant to the story — it wasn’t just saying, ‘We’re going to make a queer episode.’”
Last week, we were also treated to photos of the set they’re filming the new season on in Vancouver, Canada, where Cristin Barper posted images and a video walk-through on X (formerly Twitter). In them, you can spot Weston’s Pharmacy — which appears throughout the video games, including while the characters are traversing Seattle in the second game — which is covered in overgrown plants.
New location “The Last of Us” set in Downtown Vancouver!! #TheLastOfUs @yvrshootstweets @YVRFilming pic.twitter.com/E6144cHK9I
— Cristina Barper (@CristinaBarper) May 11, 2024
Between the sneak peek at lesbian couple Ellie and Dina together and the first look at the Seattle set, we can’t wait for season two. Unfortunately, the new season of The Last of Us won’t premiere until sometime in 2025.