Kaitlyn Dever joined the cast of HBO's The Last of Us (adapted from Naughty Dog's video game series) as Abby in the beginning of season 2. Her introduction was explosive to say the least, as she brutally murdered lead character Joel (Pedro Pascal) in the second episode in revenge for him killing her father in the season 1 finale. Joel's death is regarded as one of the most shocking and controversial moments in video game history.
After the season's shocking opening, the story focused on Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and her ardent quest for revenge. Her steadfast, uncompromising search for Abby takes her to Seattle with her pregnant girlfriend Dina (Isabella Merced); they're later joined by Ellie's friend Jesse (Young Mazino) and Joel's younger brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna). Ellie is prepared to go to hell and back, so long as she gets her revenge. By the end of the season, she does encounter Abby, who once again kills someone Ellie cares about...but the screen cuts to black before we see what happens next.
In the final scene, the show goes back in time to the day Ellie arrived in Seattle, but this time we see what Abby was up to. This sets up season 3, which will chronicle these three days in Seattle from Abby's perspective, which is also what happens in the video game The Last of Us Part II. In Ellie's half of the story, we got glimpses of a war going on between two Seattle factions: the militant Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and the cultish, primitivist Seraphites. Abby is a part of the WLF, so we'll surely learn more about these groups when she takes center stage.
While Dever can't confirm that season 3 will cover Abby's perspective, it certainly looks that way. "One would think, yes. But [“The Last of Us” co-creator] Craig [Mazin] hasn’t talked to me about what he’s doing," Dever told The Los Angeles Times. '"All he said to me was, 'Just get ready for what’s to come because it’s going to be crazier.' He always said he wanted to make Season 2 bigger than Season 1, and he said Season 3 is going to be even bigger. I’m like, 'OK. I’ll be ready.'"
The Last of Us is a show all about perspective; each character is the hero in their mind. When Dever had to delve into Abby's mindset and understand her anger, she'd keep going back to one scene. "Well, the very first scene I shot was the killing of Joel. The light one. [Laughs] So getting back into it, I’d always go back to that and Abby’s monologue, what she says to Joel before shooting him. Those words are so visceral and heartbreaking and really paint a picture. So I just kept bringing myself back to that place, how I’d been thinking about saying those words for five years."
Playing that first scene was incredibly tough for Dever, not only because of its emotional weight, but because she was also dealing with personal issues at the time. "I was terrified," she said. "I had spent so much time contemplating my mom’s death before she died, thinking about how I wouldn’t be able to go on. I couldn’t imagine. And then it’s a heartbreaking thing to think about, how life moves on. And you have the choice to keep going or not go to Vancouver and do the show that she was so excited about me doing. And then after she passed, I realized there’s no part of me that couldn’t not do this. I had to do it for her."
Dever did not reveal any plot details about season 3, because she doesn't know what lies around the corner. "We don’t know what Craig’s plans are," she said again. "He has been playing with dynamics, even in that first episode of the season where we see Abby taking charge and being a leader."
The Last of Us season 3 is officially happening, but it's still a while away. FIlming is not expected to commence until 2026, which likely means a 2027 release. Hopefully the wheels will start turning earlier, and there are some mixed messages out there:
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