The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann breaks down the reasons behind Season 2’s most obvious deviation from the source material.
Per Collider, Druckmann recently opened up about the reason why The Last of Us Season 2 immediately gives away the fact that Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby is a member of the Fireflies. In The Las of Us 2, the game which Season 2 of the series is based on, Abby being a Firefly is a major revelation that takes place well into the main story. «When you’re playing as the character, you have this immediate empathy towards them,» Druckmann explained. «We don’t have that [in the streaming series], so then we have to rely on other things.»
«The fact that Abby is a Firefly is something we withheld in the game for a very, very long time. But here we just decided to reveal it very early and to just lean into it and show who she is,» Druckmann continued. «To me, the key was to find a certain ferocity and a relentlessness, and I think you’ll see some of that as the season goes on… There is a power that Abby gives you in the game as you’re playing her, but we don’t have gameplay. So… the information delivery system had to be different.»
Abby Has Joined The Last of Us for Season 2
Introduced in The Last of Us 2, Abby is a member of the militia group known as the Fireflies. Throughout the game, Abby is on the hunt for Joel, who was responsible for the death of her father in the previous game and who she sees as the only real enemy she has in the world. The character was introduced with the first episode of Season 2 of the live-action The Last of Us adaptation, «Future Days,» which picks up five years after the events of Season 1, during which time Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie have settled in with a whole community of fellow survivors. Upon its release, the episode was met with widespread acclaim from critics, with «Future Days» holding a perfect 100% «Fresh» rating on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes as of the time of writing.
Dever recently discussed her previous experiences working with Druckmann, which just so happen to include nearly portraying Ellie in the original planned adaptation of The Last of Us based on the video game series. «I had met with Druckmann years ago to potentially play Ellie,» Dever recalled about a feature film adaptation that didn’t get made. While she didn’t get the part at the time, it did kick off a relationship with Naughty Dog, who brought her back to do voice over and motion capture work on Uncharted 4. When the role of Abby needed filling for The Last of Us Season 2, the part immediately went to Dever, who snapped up the opportunity without any hesitation. «I’m still shocked to this day that it happened this way,» Dever added.
The Last of Us is currently available for streaming on Max.
