Another day, more casting for season two of The Last of Us. It’s clear that things are ramping up quickly now, and the latest to join the growing cast is Isabela Merced, taking on the role of Dina.
Merced has been one of the best young actresses rising up through the Hollywood ranks, thanks to her roles in Sicario 2, Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and Father of the Bride. She’ll play the Marvel hero Araña in the upcoming Madame Web movie with Dakota Johnson.
So who is Dina? In The Last of Us Part II video game, she is the ex-girlfriend of Jesse, recently cast with Beef actor Young Mazino, and the eventual love interest of Ellie, played once again by Bella Ramsey. In the game, Dina is another, along with Jesse, who joins Ellie on a very personal mission. Also recently cast was Kaitlyn Dever in the critical role of Abby. Pedro Pascal is set to return as Joel.
The film is a reunion between Merced and Dever who starred together in the Romeo & Juliet reimagining, Rosaline.
“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable,” said Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us‘ co-creators, writers, executive producers and directors. “You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away. We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”
It looks as if The Last of Us season two will begin production soon, and we can probably expect to see it hit HBO in 2025. [Deadline]