Summary
- The Last of Us fans eagerly await news on the second season, particularly casting for the character Abby, who faced backlash for not conforming to Hollywood beauty standards.
- Showrunner Craig Mazin admits that the ongoing strike halted progress on casting Abby, but assures fans that the show has a strong track record of making successful cast announcements.
- Despite criticism and death threats, the creators of The Last of Us TV series are determined to tell emotionally resonant stories and are prepared to fight against the negative reactions to Abby.
Just as fans were excited to hear The Last of Us casting news, the dual strike stopped that in its tracks.
After beautifully adapting Naughty Dog's 2013 game, The Last of Us Part I, fans wanted to know when they would hear anything about the imminent second season, especially casting news for the memorable villain Abby (Laura Bailey). After she killed Joel (Troy Baker) in revenge for her father's death, the game switched perspectives so players could play as her. Abby received offensive backlash because she did not adhere to Hollywood beauty standards.
But regardless, she will appear in The Last of Us season 2, even if finding the actor has been met with obstacles. “The strike stopped us in our tracks,” showrunner Craig Mazin confessed to The Hollywood Reporter. “Things were in process. Look, Abby was the first role that we wanted to tackle. We’ve got a pretty good track record of making major cast announcements and people going, ‘Really?’ Which will probably continue. So people may disagree, but I think we got it right so far and the audience seems to feel we got it right and the Academy seems to feel we got it right.”
Mazin and the creative director of the games, Neil Druckmann, are no strangers to criticism. Druckmann is famously unapologetic about killing off Joel and the character of Abby. The Last of Us story has always been about the cycle of violence. Joel kills a seemingly insignificant doctor to save Ellie's life. This doctor turns out to be Abby's father, and she kills Joel to avenge him. The cycle is vicious until it goes around and around until nothing’s left. Joel's fate in The Last of Us Part 2 was just another component of the story and one that will be revisited in the series.
The disturbing reaction against Abby and death threats against the voice actor are complex issues that Mazin and Druckmann are prepared to fight against. If season 1 is any indication, the creatives behind the HBO show are intent on telling emotionally moving, if brutal, stories no matter the cost. Though Bill's (Nick Offerman) and Frank's (Murray Bartlett) story changed from the games, the bones of their dynamic remained. The Last of Us series altered the story for the better and is sure to do the same thing for season 2.
Abby's casting is vital because she is a primary antagonist. She is as important as Ellie (Ashley Johnson), whether The Last of Us video game critics want to admit it or not. Throughout her relationship with Ellie, the two come to terms with how toxic violence is, and moving past it is the only way to survive. There is no show without Abby; She deserves to be as nuanced and complex as she is in the games. Fans may have to wait until the strike resolves, but it will be a character worth waiting for.
The Last of Us season 1 is streaming on Max.
Source: The Hollywood Reporter