“The Last of Us” casts Kaitlyn Dever as pivotal season 2 character Abby

Get ready for HBO series fans to get just as riled up with Abby as the gamers were back in 2020.

The team behind The Last of Us found an actor to play one of the most pivotal and polarizing characters from the video games.

Craig Mazin, who showruns The Last of Us with game co-creator Neil Druckmann, and HBO drama chief Francesca Orsi had previously signaled in interviews that they were eyeing someone to play Abby before the Hollywood strikes. Now Kaitlyn Dever of Booksmart and No One Will Save You notoriety has officially been announced in the role for season 2, HBO confirmed on Thursday.

It's difficult to explain to The Last of Us newbies who Abby is without getting into spoilers. Heck, it's difficult to explain the basic premise of The Last of Us Part II, the game which season 2 will begin to adapt. Marketing materials for that PlayStation title took a Marvel-like approach and edited out key characters from scenes in the trailers to maintain secrecy. So, in the spirit of caution, we'll just stick with this general description of Abby released by HBO on Tuesday: "a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved."

Dever, who was nominated for an Emmy for Dopesick and a Golden Globe for Unbelievable, is an interesting casting choice. She was once in the running to play Ellie for The Last of Us season 1, a role that ultimately went to Bella Ramsey. It's a situation that loosely mirrors the games: Laura Bailey, who voiced Abby in The Last of Us Part II, voiced minor roles in the first entry.

As if to preemptively assuage certain fans who will point out the physical differences between Dever and the Abby character, who's notably muscular, Mazin and Druckmann released a statement. “Our casting process for season 2 has been identical to season 1: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material," they said jointly. "Nothing matters more than talent, and we’re thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro, Bella, and the rest of our family.”

Dever now joins Ramsey and the returning Pedro Pascal, who earned Best Actress and Actor Emmy nominations from the Television Academy for their performances of Ellie and Joel in The Last of Us season 1. Joel, a hardened survivor living in a Boston quarantine zone years after a zombie-like plague ravaged America, is tasked with smuggling the young Ellie, who's mysteriously immune to the virus, to a rebel group across the country. The show earned a grand total of 24 Emmy nominations.

Season 1 adapted the main events of the 2013 game. Mazin and Druckmann have confirmed they will now tackle material from its sequel, 2020's The Last of Us Part II, over the course of multiple seasons. The game took place five years after the first entry, with Ellie and Joel settled down in Tommy and Maria's settlement in Jackson, Wyo. (Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley played Tommy and Maria on the series.)

"Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors," the sequel game's cryptic description read at the time of release. "When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions."

After the game dropped, Druckmann said he received social media vitriol, including some death threats, from fans who were reacting to the story's intense twists and turns. Mazin previously told EW that he was already anticipating "furor" from viewers come season 2. "There usually is, even starting with casting," he said.

"I'm never gonna say there are things that are gonna happen in the show that happened in the game. You never know what we're gonna do," Mazin continued. "But I will say that it is the adventure, the journey is the point. There are things that will shock people, things that were in the game, things that were not in the game, and that's okay. As long as they're purposeful, they're not there to just simply shock. We are not interested in creating social media fear. We just want to tell the story the way we think it should be told."

"As far as how ready viewers will be for season 2… I tend to focus on what we can control (is the storytelling up to our standards?) versus things we can’t control (the audience’s reaction)," Druckmann said in a separate interview with EW pegged to The Last of Us Part II Remastered (coming to PlayStation 5 on Jan. 19). "With the show’s popularity, I’m sure we’ll get the gamut of emotional responses. It’ll be fun seeing people's responses to this story either for the first time or for the second time in another medium."

The Last of Us season 2 will begin filming this year ahead of a planned 2025 premiere on HBO.

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Related content:

• The Last of Us showrunner is already preparing for some 'furor' around season 2: 'There usually is'

• The Last of Us boss confirms Matthew McConaughey was in talks to play Joel

• Steven Yeun told Pedro Pascal how the Last of Us video game ends

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