Why Kaitlyn Dever Needed Extra Security While Filming ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2

The Last of Us Season 2 is set to introduce viewers to one of the most controversial characters in Naughty Dog’s award-winning video game franchise: Abby Anderson. As actress Kaitlyn Dever prepared to step into the role on the hit HBO series, her co-star Isabela Merced, who portrays Dina, revealed that the Last Man Standing alum, 27,needed some extra protection from fans who “genuinely hate” the character.

“There’s so many strange people in this world because there are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person,” Merced said during a recent episode on Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast. “Kaitlyn had to be extra secured by security when it came to the filming of this.”

While Merced did not explain HBO’s reasoning for the extra caution, Laura Bailey, who played the character in The Last of Us Part II, received death threats following the game’s release.

(Warning: Spoilers ahead) Introduced in The Last of Us Part II – the follow-up to The Last of Us video game on which the hit series is based – Abby, a playable character, is “a “skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved,” per HBO. She is an antagonist to Ellie and Joel (Pedro Pascal).

Despite the hatred towards her character, Merced said Dever is “such a cool person” who “does not get phased by things” and “has her head in the right place… Give her the damn Emmy honestly. I’m so excited for people to see how incredibly well Bella [Ramsey] and Kaitlyn did on this.”

While Dever’s casting in Season 2 and the introduction of Abby has generated plenty of buzz, Merced said that she is most excited for fans to see the romance between her character and Ramsey’s Ellie. The Madame Web star said their storyline “brings a tear to my eye. I have a whole playlist for Dina and Ellie. It’s beautiful.”

The Last of Us Season 2 also stars Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, Young Mazino as Jesse, Danny Ramirez as Washington Liberation Front member Manny, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, and Spencer Lord as Owen. Catherine O’Hara is also set to star in an undisclosed role that was teased in a recent teaser trailer for the season.

The show’s seven-episode sophomore run is currently filming, with Pascal sharing in a February update that filming “was going amazing. It’s sort of awe-inspiring, the kind of focus and dedication that everyone has going into season 2.” The Last of Us Season 2 is set to premiere in 2025.