The Last of Us’ Kaitlyn Dever Finally Elaborates on Almost Playing Ellie

The Last of Us is a masterpiece video game that tackles raw human emotions from start to finish. It was an emotional rollercoaster that was too good for an interactive experience, and later became a television series that rivals the quality of storytelling from the source material.

Casting is one of the difficult aspects in live-action adaptations, and at one point, Kaitlyn Dever was in the running for the lead role for the live-action movie that never saw the light of day. Dever eventually was cast as Abby Anderson opposite Bella Ramsey’s Ellie Williams in the HBO adaptation and recalled the role that got away.

The Last of Us Star Almost Played a Different Character for a Different Adaptation

In The Last of Us Season 2, casual audiences were finally introduced to Abby Anderson, the daughter of the head surgeon whom Joel killed in cold blood in the season one finale. The casting process for this controversial character raised a few eyebrows, especially from the hardcore fanbase since Abby was meant to be a buff young woman and a capable survivor; however, HBO went with Kaitlyn Dever who looks nothing like her video game counterpart, and bears a striking resemblance to the other protagonist, Ellie Williams.

This isn’t all a coincidence since Dever was one of the names thrown around to portray Ellie in an earlier live-action film about The Last of Us, but ultimately never left development hell. Dever was offered the role of Abby because she can perfectly convey the character’s rage and grief. While purists are upset about her lack of muscles and would prefer her to be Ellie, her performance in the first two episodes proves that HBO made the right choice.

While it is no secret that Dever was attached to the role of Ellie, nothing was set in stone since she didn’t sign any contracts to star in the film. However, Dever claimed she had a few meetings with the folks at Naughty Dog, which made her privy to a few secrets about The Last of Us Part 2, and even did a few table reads with director Neil Druckmann in the room. The project never came to fruition, but it did pave the way for Dever to star in Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End as Cassie Drake.

For more Thumb Wars coverage, check out director Swen Vincke’s opinions about the modding community and how Gabriel Luna shed a few tears after reading the first scripts of HBO’s The Last of Us. Otherwise, follow Thumb Wars on X, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram to keep up with the latest news, reviews, and interviews!

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