In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunners Druckmann and Mazin defended their somewhat controversial casting of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in The Last of Us season 2. They emphasized that casting Dever was all about capturing the character's essence through performance rather than a perfect physical match, with her embodying both vulnerability and the formidable spirit required for Abby. Read their full comments below:
Druckmann: We value performance over anything else. We need someone to really capture the essence of those characters.... We don't value as much, "Do they look exactly like the character with their eyebrows or their nose or their body?" Whatever it is. It's not nowhere on the priority list, but it's below a bunch of other things that we consider.
We would've struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role. In the game, you have to play both characters [Ellie and Abby] and we need them to play differently. We needed Ellie to feel smaller and kind of maneuver around, and Abby was meant to play more like Joel in that she's almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things. That doesn't play as big of a role in this version of the story because there's not as much violent action moment to moment. It's more about the drama. I'm not saying there's no action here. It's just, again, different priorities and how you approach it.
Mazin: I personally think that there is an amazing opportunity here to delve into someone who is perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but whose spirit is stronger. And then the question is, "Where does her formidable nature come from and how does it manifest?" That's something that will be explored now and later.
Druckmann: Kaitlyn has the spirit of the game in her. What I always loved about the idea was that you are going to continually be challenged as you were in season 1. When you try to pick a hero, it's tough because we're human beings, we're not heroes. For every heroic act, there's someone who suffers on the other side who may see you reasonably as a villain. When you look at Kaitlyn, there's just something in her eyes where, even no matter what she's experiencing, you connect. It was important that we found somebody that we could connect to the way we connect to Bella.
What The Last Of Us Showrunners' Comments Mean For Kaitlyn Dever's Casting
Why Has The Show's Abby Casting Been Controversial?
As a result, Dever didn't train extensively to achieve the muscular physique of her video game counterpart, which has been somewhat controversial amongst purist fans. However, as Mazin explains, this provides an opportunity to explore a version of the character who may be more physically vulnerable than Abby in the video game, but who possesses an even stronger spirit. Without her imposing physical presence, the show will have to examine the origins of her formidable nature and how it expresses itself in other ways.
Our Take On Kaitlyn Dever's Casting As Abby
The Last Of Us Showrunners Are Exactly Right
The Last of Us showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin are exactly right about casting Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. The character's imposing physical appearance is much less important than capturing the character's essence through performance. Regardless, audiences haven't even seen Dever's performance as Abby yet, so they should at least wait until The Last of Us season 2 premieres before judging the casting decision.
