"It feels like really such an honor": Kaitlyn Dever on playing Abby in The Last of Us Season 2

The much-awaited The Last of Us Season 2 will be released on Max on April 13, 2025, and fans look forward to seeing Kaitlyn Dever play Abby.

In a recent Variety interview, Dever expressed her excitement, stating,

"It feels like really such an honor."

The character is especially meaningful since she told the outlet that her dad always used to play Abby when the two of them played The Last of Us game together.

She said:

"It was a very cool, like, bonding experience between the two of us because we played the first game together."

Kaitlyn Dever added:

"And then I played the second game with him up until, like, we started playing Abby, and then I kinda bailed because that game is long, and I'm a bad gamer."

Kaitlyn Dever's casting as Abby, a complicated and divisive character, has been greeted with curiosity.

With the most recent trailer featuring her standing over a grave, anticipation is running high as the series will look into the morally grey storytelling that made The Last of Us Part II one of the most discussed games in history.

Fans are preparing for a season to push the limits of video game adaptations.

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Who is Abby, and why is she key to The Last of Us Season 2?

Abby, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, is a significant character in The Last of Us Part II and is the motivational force behind most of the game's story. Introduced as the antagonist, the life of Abby is parallel to that of Ellie, revealing the cycle of vengeance and humanizing her in rather unexpected manners.

The series will follow the game's two-perspective storytelling, with an alternating time between Ellie and Abby. The first season of The Last of Us primarily adhered to the narrative of the initial game, following Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). Season 2, however, will make a daring leap ahead by dividing the narrative points of view between Ellie and Abby.

Season 2 will explore Abby's reasons for doing what she did, presenting a profile of loss, survival, and ethical dilemmas. As game developer Neil Druckmann noted, Abby's journey was deliberately designed to challenge player prejudices, making them identify with someone they first see as a villain.

Casting Dever, who received critical praise for her work on Dopesick and Unbelievable, will guarantee that Abby's emotional makeup is delivered.

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Will The Last of Us continue past Season 2?

With Part II being a bigger and more complicated story than the original game, showrunner Craig Mazin has teased the series could go on for more than just one extra season. Indeed, as Collider discussed, Mazin has indicated the show could even run for more than three seasons.

Since The Last of Us Part II has two halves, one dealing with Ellie's pursuit of revenge and the other with Abby's survival, Season 2 will probably only tackle half of the game's chronology.

This division is to ensure that the characters are developed in greater depth, maintaining the interest of long-time fans as well as new audiences.

The success of this show has already been well-documented, with Season 1 having a 96% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. If the second season maintains the franchise's strong momentum, stretching past Season 2 seems inevitable.

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Season 2 premieres on Max on April 13, 2025.