"This casting fumble" - The Last of Us season 2 faces backlash as Redditors call out the decision to overlook Kaitlyn Dever for season 1

HBO's acclaimed post-apocalyptic series, The Last of Us, premiered its second season on April 13, 2025. This season features the controversial character Abby, portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, who plays a crucial role in the unfolding plot. Nevertheless, Bella Ramsey's interpretation of Ellie has led numerous fans to express that Dever might have been a more suitable choice for the lead female role.

A Reddit user even made a sarcastic remark regarding this matter:

"This casting fumble needs to be taught at colleges."

Comment byu/Efficient-Suit-6230 from discussion inTheLastOfUs2

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Many fans felt that Kaitlyn Dever could have portrayed Ellie far better than Bella Ramsey, and blamed the studio heads for choosing the latter.

"They had a perfect opportunity and totally blew it," said one Reddit user.

"No they knew exactly what they were doing, they chose a shit actress thats appeared in one blockbuster show. It's clear they were trying for numbers. She seems like a diversity hire but who am I to know haha," wrote another.

"Kaitlyn may have been old enough and established enough to convince them to not make Ellie an insufferable brat, so there is that. Plus looks also matter, same as the dwarfs in Snow White mattered," remarked a third Redditor.

While others commented in support of Bella Ramsey by praising her acting and calling her a good fit for the role.

"Y'all nerd to let it go. Bella is a great great actor who brings awesomeness to the roll. Its. Not. About. Looks. Always. Ya bunch of trolls," one user said in the actor's defense.

"I really like Bellas performance as Ellie. Season 1 episodes 7 and 8 was some of her best work. Especially the back half of episode 8," remarked another.

"And Bella was fantastic in the role, and has done a great job in this one. This is a talented person. No one can help what they look like and no one would turn down a role like this. I feel terrible for the actor," said one user.

Kaitlyn Dever was considered to play Ellie in another adaptation of The Last of Us

Naughty Dog released the video game, The Last of Us, on June 14, 2013. Due to its tremendous success, Screen Gems announced in 2014 plans to adapt the story into a feature film, with Sam Raimi, known for Spider-Man, set to direct. Actress Kaitlyn Dever, who gained recognition from the FX series Justified, was considered for the role of Ellie in the film.

Additionally, Neil Druckmann, the video game's co-creator, provided the actress with a tour of the studio's Santa Monica headquarters, where they were developing the sequel, The Last of Us Part II, which premiered on June 19, 2020.

Reflecting on the experience, the 28-year-old actress told Entertainment Weekly on April 2, 2025, that she had known the ending of the second video game years before its release.

"I would literally meet Neil at Naughty Dog and he would walk me around and show me how they created the game.....I was seeing the first drawings of older Ellie, and he told me what happens, too. Talk about spoiler alerts... He did ask me, 'Do you want to know what happens?' I was like, 'Yeah, tell me!' So I've been keeping that secret for years."

Despite the anticipation, the film remained trapped in "development hell" for over "a year and a half" by the time Druckmann was interviewed by IGN in April 2016.

When HBO started adapting the game into a nine-part series, Dever, in her mid-20s, was too old to effectively portray the 14-year-old character. During the same interview, she expressed how "surreal" it felt to return to The Last of Us in a different role, adding that " the things that are meant to be in your life will be in your life."

She ended the interview by reflecting on the similarities between Abby and Ellie by saying:

"They both have rage. It just shows up differently for both of them because they're two different people, but they are mirrors for each other."

Also read: The Last of Us season 2 is bringing this character's story to a tragic end, and we are not emotionally ready

A brief recap of The Last of Us season 2 so far

At the conclusion of The Last of Us season 1, Joel saves Ellie from the Fireflies, preventing them from killing her to develop a crucial vaccine against the Cordyceps infection. He takes out several Firefly soldiers, including Marlene, and leaves the hospital with Ellie, fabricating a story that the Fireflies couldn't find a cure. Abby, the daughter of one of the fallen soldiers, pledges to avenge Joel for the slaughter.

Season 2 of the Last of Us begins five years later, showing Joel and Ellie residing in a settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, managed by Joel's brother, Tommy, and his wife, Maria. During these years, Ellie uncovers the truth about the Fireflies, which creates tension in her relationship with Joel.

Abby and her group track down Joel just as infected tendrils begin to appear in the commune, threatening everyone's safety. Abby accidentally awakens a large horde of bloaters, leading to a bloody fight between the survivors and the infected. Joel and Dina rescue Abby from the chaos and follow her to the lodge, hoping to find more survivors.

However, Abby brutally murders Joel after revealing that she is the daughter of the Firefly doctor he killed in Salt Lake City. Ellie arrives at the lodge looking for Joel and is forced to watch him succumb to his injuries. She vows vengeance against Abby before carrying Joel's body back to the settlement with Dina and Jesse.

Fans can catch up on all episodes of The Last of Us on HBO and Max.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Yesha Srivastava