The Last of Us team has confirmed that they’re planning to flesh out a minor character from the games in season 2, in the same way they did for Bill and Frank in season 1. In what was one of the stand-out episodes of the first season, the writers developed a whole backstory for the pair.
Now they’re planning something similar with Eugene Linden, who will be played by The Sopranos star Joe Pantoliano. If Eugene doesn’t ring much of a bell, you’ll be forgiven because he’s a character we actually only hear about in passing.
Eugene was a patrolman who lived in Jackson as part of the community there and served in the Fireflies with Tommy Miller. His importance mainly comes from his close friendship with Dina (played by Isabela Merced in season 2) before his death. According to Variety, his introduction was Craig Mazin’s idea and one that Neil Druckmann loved.
“I get excited when I see these opportunities,” Druckmann added. “I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
All we really know about Eugene in the games is that he died of natural causes from a stroke, making him one of the few characters to do so. It’ll certainly be intriguing to see how the series changes and develops his story when it returns with new episodes.
The Last of Us season 2 begins on HBO on April 13 and on Sky and NOW on April 14. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming TV shows to get on your radar.