The Last of Us: Season 2 is getting a smorgasbord of new talent, with a handful of fresh names joining the cast this week. Per reporting from Variety, joining the upcoming season will be: Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Mortal Kombat 2), Ariela Barer (Runaways), and Spencer Lord (Riverdale, Family Law).
Ramirez will play Manny, a “loyal soldier” with a “sunny outlook” who is haunted by “a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most.” Barer plays Mel, a doctor whose beliefs are shaken by the reality of the post-apocalypse. Gabrielle will play Nora, a military medic dealing with past sins. Lord will play Owen, a “a gentle soul trapped in a warrior’s body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate.”
Notably, all four characters first debuted in The Last Of Us Part 2, the game that will inform the direction of the show’s second season. All are connected to the Washington Liberation Front, a paramilitary group fighting for control during the events of the game, and they share ties with game protagonist/antagonist Abby Anderson.
Read: The Last of Us Part 2 actor Laura Bailey says fans threatened her newborn son
Ramirez, Gabrielle, Barer, and Lord will join a strong cast for the upcoming season of The Last of Us, which includes fellow newcomers Isabela Merced (as Dina), Young Mazino (as Jesse), Kaitlyn Dever (as Abby), and Catherine O’Hara (in an unknown role).
Pedro Pascal (Joel) will return in the upcoming season, as will Bella Ramsey (Ellie).
Beyond this casting news, and the confirmed inspiration for the show’s second season, we don’t know a lot about The Last of Us: Season 2. It appears filming may have begun already, with the aim for the show to return in 2025 – but for confirmed details, we’ll have to remain patient. Stay tuned for more on HBO’s plans.
