Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us features characters from The Last of Us: Part II, including Abby. The character sparked a lot of heated discussion when the game released in 2020, and the cycle is expected to repeat itself with Abby in the TV series. Isabela Merced, who plays Dina in season 2, responded to the criticism of Abby by saying in an interview, “There are so many strange people in this world.” She also reminded people that Abby, who is played by Kaitlyn Dever in the series, can't hurt you because she's not real.
“There are people who genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person. Just a reminder. Not a real person,” Merced said during an appearance on the Happy Sad Confused podcast.
She went on to say that Abby actress Kaitlyn Dever had to have increased security while filming The Last of Us season 2. Laura Bailey, who played Abby in the video game, received death threats and other forms of abuse, including threats to her newborn baby.
“So Kaitlyn had to have extra security while filming. Kaitlyn is such a cool person who doesn't let things get to her and has a good head on her shoulders,” Merced said.
Dever was filming season 2 of The Last of Us while she herself was going through a personal tragedy with the death of her mother earlier this year from breast cancer.
“Give her that damn Emmy. I'm so excited for people to see how amazingly good she is.” [Ellie actor Bella Ramsey] and Kaitlyn did about it. I'm so excited,” Merced said.
In the interview, Merced also addressed the backlash against the TV show in general, saying she didn't understand why people were so angry.
“The showrunner [Craig Mazin] and the creator of the video game [Neil Druckmann]”They're working together to do this. So if you like what the guy did, and he's doing more, why are you mad?” Merced said. “I have too many opinions to be on Twitter. I see stuff like this and it makes me want to be like Cardi B.”
The Last of Us season 2 will premiere in 2025. It will consist of seven episodes, compared to nine for season 1. The series is expected to continue with a third season, but it has not yet been officially announced.
As for the game series, Naughty Dog has been teasing The Last of Us: Part III a lot.
“I thought: is there a concept in this? [for The Last of Us 3]“For years I couldn’t find this concept. But recently that changed,” Druckmann said in an interview published in February 2024. “I don’t have a story. But I have this concept that is, to me, as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2,” he said. “Like a separate thing, and yet it has this common thread for all three. So I feel like there’s probably an additional chapter to this story.”