Kaitlyn Dever in Talks for Major ‘Last of Us’ Season 2 Role

The Last of Us Season 2 has reportedly found its Abby Anderson. Actress Kaitlyn Dever, best known for her roles in Fox’s Last Man Standing, Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart, and more recently Hulu’s No One Will Save You, is reportedly in talks to join the hit HBO post-apocalyptic series, Los Angeles Magazine contributor Jeff Sneider revealed on his The InSneider blog.

Based on the Naughty Dog video game of the same name, The Last of Us centers around Ellie, a 14-year-old girl immune to the cordyceps fungus whom Joel has been tasked with smuggling out of the QZ. In the games, Abby is a character introduced in The Last of Us Part II who is positioned as a rival of Ellie’s and is the game’s co-lead.

Although there has been no official casting news for the role of Abby as of yet, Sneider wrote in his blog that “Dever is poised to win the role.” Her potential casting isn’t necessarily much of a surprise. Not only did Dever previously audition for the role of Ellie, meaning she’s already familiar to those working behind the scenes on the show, but she is also currently one of just a few dozen people co-showrunner Craig Mazin follows on Instagram. Mazin revealed to the Los Angeles Times in August that he had found an actress to play Abby, though he hasn’t commented further on the casting.

Should she join the cast of The Last of Us Season 2, her portrayal of Abby would mark Dever’s latest big role. The actress is perhaps best known for her portrayal of Eve Baxter, Tim Allen’s onscreen daughter, in Fox’s Last Man Standing. She also had a leading role in Wilde’s directorial debut Booksmart in 2019. She most recently appeared in Hulu’s alien home invasion thriller No One Will Save You, which has been praised by both critics and audiences.

As for The Last of Us, fans will likely have a bit of a wait before Season 2 finally drops. Although the show is one of several series being prioritized by HBO in the wake of the writers and actors strikes, production on Season 2 is not expected to start until sometime in early 2024. The season is not expected to premiere until at least 2025. The complete first season is available to stream on Max.