Summary
- Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Us adaptation will differ from the game in a major way.
- The live-action version of Abby won’t be as buff as her video game counterpart, with the showrunners not requiring Kaitlyn Dever to bulk up.
- In an interview, Neil Druckmann explained the rationale behind the decision, including Abby’s origin as it relates to the game.
When Season 2 of the critically-acclaimed HBO adaptation of Naughty Dog‘s title, The Last of Us, debuts later this April, one thing hardcore fans will recognize is that the live-action version of Abby, who is being portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, isn’t nearly as buff or muscular as her video game counterpart.
Related
The Last Of Us Season Two Will Be Just As Faithful As The First
Expect golf clubs, Jeffrey Wright, and plenty of bloodshed.
According to Neil Druckmann, that’s a conscientious decision.
The Show Isn’t The Game
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the head of Naughty Dog came out in front of any potential backlash regarding how Abby will appear in Season 2 by leading with, “We value performance over anything else.”
In explaining the rationale behind not having Dever bulk up for the role, Druckmann discussed the need for the in-game version of Abby to be buff in order to differentiate her from Ellie.
“In the game, you have to play both characters [Ellie and Abby] and we need them to play differently,” he said. “We needed Ellie to feel smaller and kind of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play more like Joel in that she’s almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things.
“That doesn’t play as big of a role in this version of the story, because there’s not as much violent action moment to moment. It’s more about the drama. I’m not saying there’s no action here. It’s just, again, different priorities and how you approach it.”
That’s a pretty interesting take, especially considering that Abby’s size also plays a narrative role in the game and is not just a gameplay differentiator. As our Tessa Kaur wrote back in 2023, “Being physically intimidating is part of Abby’s character.”
“I personally think that there is an amazing opportunity here to delve into someone who is perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but whose spirit is stronger,” Craig Mazin, writer and producer of the series, said.
Of course, no one expected the HBO show to be a 1:1 recreation of the game, but a little faithfulness does go a long way, especially when it’s such a crucial element of the narrative at hand. Ultimately, only time will tell if the decision was the right one.
Next
I Will Never Say Another Mean Thing About Simu Liu If He Brings Sleeping Dogs Back
I’ll never badmouth Shang-Chi again.