Кейтлін Дівер у ролі Еббі в серіалі The Last of Us / HBO
Caitlin Deaver, who plays Abby in the second season of «The Last of Us, claims that she did not audition for the role because showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin knew in advance that she was perfect for the role.
«They are very confident storytellers,» Deaver said in an interview The Hollywood Reporter. «They know who is right for their story, and they are so confident about it. It’s very helpful when you’re creating something like this because it gives you freedom and a sense of security playing these characters».
When the idea of a film adaptation of Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic game series came up in the 2010s, it was Deaver who was promoted by fans to play Ellie. At the same time, the actress met with Druckmann to discuss it a few years ago, but in the end, the work given to Bella Ramsay, while in Caitlin looked at the new Abby. Both choices were eventually heavily criticized: Ramsay for not being good enough for Ellie, and Deaver for not being up to the physical stature of Abby from the games. It is noteworthy that the actresses We had to hire additional security for the filming because of the hate towards the character.
The showrunners themselves later said explained my decision as follows:
«We need someone who really captures the essence of these characters… So we don’t focus so much on whether the actors look like the character with their eyebrows, nose or body,» Druckmann said. «We would have had a hard time finding someone as good as Caitlin for the role. In games, this is important because we need the characters to act differently, so that Ellie feels smaller and Abby is rougher and more like Joel. In the new version of the story, the difference doesn’t play a big role. It’s more about the drama»
Deaver, like Abby, made her debut in the first episode of The Last of Us — season two with a promise to find Joel (Pedro Pascal) at any cost, who took her father’s life while rescuing Ellie from the hospital at the end of the first season.
Other newcomers to the show include Isabela Merced as a new version of Dina and Young Masino as Jesse. In the next episodes, we expect Isaac, whose role was reprised on television by Jeffrey Wright and a new trailer has already teased his appearance during the interrogation of one of the representatives of the Serafi cult.
The second episode will debut on HBO and Max this Sunday, April 20, and will be available with official Ukrainian dubbing on Megogo starting Monday. The sequel consists of a total of 7 episodes (2 less than the first season) and has already received criticism for its «cliffhanger» — although the overall scores were pretty decent and HBO ahead of schedule announced the third season (no release date yet).