The Last of Us Season 2's Abby, Kaitlyn Dever, Says It's 'Hard Not to See Those Things on the Internet'

Actress Kaitlyn Dever has discussed playing Abby successful The Last of Us Season 2, admitting she finds it hard to halt herself from looking astatine absorption connected the internet.

Much toxicity surrounds the quality of Abby successful particular, with immoderate choosing to dependable their vexation astatine the fictional character's actions by harassing Naughty Dog employees including Neil Druckmann and histrion Laura Bailey. This included threats and maltreatment targeting her, her parents, and her two-year-old son.

HBO was adjacent wary of this reception portion filming Season 2, arsenic Dever was fixed other information successful lawsuit of escalated action. "There's truthful galore unusual radical successful this satellite due to the fact that determination are radical that really genuinely hatred Abby, who is not a existent person. Just a reminder: not a existent person," said histrion Isabel Merced, who plays Dina successful Season 2.

Now, successful an interrogation with ScreenRant, Dever was asked if she pays attraction to the anticipation surrounding Abby's portrayal successful the show.

“Well, it's hard not to spot those things connected the internet,” she responded.

“It's hard not to halt myself from looking astatine it each erstwhile successful a while, particularly going into this, for sure. And I privation to bash this quality justness and marque the fans arrogant by bringing her to beingness successful this benignant of way.

But my main absorption was conscionable the collaboration betwixt Neil and Craig [Mazin], and making definite I was truly getting to the halfway of who she is and what drives her and her affectional state; her choler and her vexation and her grief and each of that. I wanted to marque definite that that was what I was focusing astir of my vigor on.”

Last month, Druckmann said the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us Part 2 won't diagnostic Abby arsenic specified a muscly quality arsenic her relation successful Season 2 doesn't request to emulate definite video crippled mechanics.

Druckmann and chap showrunner Craig Mazin told Entertainment Weekly that Dever didn't request to bulk up for the relation due to the fact that Abby didn't request to consciousness arsenic chiseled mechanically to Ellie.

"We would've struggled to find idiosyncratic arsenic bully arsenic Kaitlyn to play this role," Druckmann said. "In the game, you person to play some [Ellie and Abby] and we request them to play differently. We needed Ellie to consciousness smaller and benignant of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play much similar Joel successful that she's astir similar a brute successful the mode she tin physically manhandle definite things.

"That doesn't play arsenic large of a relation successful this mentation of the communicative due to the fact that there's not arsenic overmuch convulsive enactment infinitesimal to moment. It's much astir the drama. I'm not saying there's nary enactment here. It's just, again, antithetic priorities and however you attack it."

Mazin chimed successful too: "I personally deliberation determination is an astonishing accidental present to delve into idiosyncratic who is possibly physically much susceptible than the Abby successful the game, but whose tone is stronger. And past the question is: 'Where does her formidable quality travel from and however does it manifest?' That's thing that volition beryllium explored present and later."

The present and aboriginal remark apt refers to HBO's plans to widen The Last of Us Part 2 beyond a azygous season, dissimilar the critically acclaimed Season 1 which covered the entirety of the archetypal game. Mazin has said antecedently that Part 2 features a batch much communicative to cover, truthful portion Season 3 isn't greenlit arsenic of yet, they've built Season 2 with a "natural breakpoint" aft conscionable 7 episodes.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him connected Twitter astatine @wyp100. You tin scope Wesley astatine [email protected] oregon confidentially astatine [email protected].