‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 Adds Isabela Merced as Dina
HBO’s “The Last of Us” has found its Dina, with Isabela Merced set to portray the key character from the Naughty Dog video game’s sequel in the drama series’ highly-anticipated second season.
Dina is described as “a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit.”
“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable. You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away,” co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a statement. “We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”
Merced, whose credits include “Transformers: The Last Knight,” “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” “Instant Family,” and “Sicario: Day of the Soldado,” is repped by CAA and Peikoff Mahan.
The first season of HBO’s “The Last of Us” takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
Season 2, which will begin filming on Feb. 12, will focus on the events of “The Last of Us: Part II,” which takes place five years after Joel and Ellie’s dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, where the pair has settled down in Jackson, Wyoming.
“Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors,” the game’s synopsis states. “When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure.”
In addition to Merced, Kaitlyn Dever and Young Mazino will join the cast of “The Last of Us” Season 2 in the roles of Abby and Jesse, respectively. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return as Joel and Ellie, respectively.
When previously asked about Season 2 in August, Mazin told TheWrap that he and Druckmann would “adapt as we see fit” and that the story of the second game “contemplates more than just a Season 2.”
“We’re obviously working off of a fantastic story, one of the most acclaimed video games of all time. The first was one of the most acclaimed and then the second one came along and said hold my beer and it’s pretty intense,” he said at the time. “We are giving ourselves the space and freedom to do it the way we think it should be done best.”
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television. In addition to Mazin and Druckmann, other executive producers on Season 1 included Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan and Rose Lam.
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