There have been strong implications that Abby has already been cast for Season 2 of The Last of Us, which is going to be delayed due to the Writers and Actors Strikes, but it appears that was the first order of business they got done.
Now, we have new reporting that the actress playing Abby is potentially one of two options, names that have been thrown around for a long while now.
MyTimetoShineHello, a prominent industry leaker, says that Florence Pugh was offered the role of Abby before the strikes. But other, similar insiders are saying that it’s common fan choice, Shannon Berry instead. “Gotta by one of them!” MyTime says.
I’m not sure that’s necessarily true, but we can weigh the options.
Florence Pugh is one of the most sought-after actresses in Hollywood these days, and obviously she would be a good pick-up for the series. And The Last of Us just got nominated for 24 different Emmys, including both its leads, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, so there is a lot of attached prestige to motivate an A-list actress like Pugh to sign on. While I certainly don’t doubt Pugh’s acting, I do wonder if she would channel the physicality of Abby here, an absolute powerhouse, but I suppose she has been playing an action hero super spy in Marvel for a while now.
Shannon Berry is the other name, and close to the opposite of Pugh. She’s known really only for her supporting role in The Wilds, a show that ran for two seasons on Amazon before it was cancelled. But fans soon latched onto her as a potential Abby given that she is quite literally a dead ringer for the character. She follows loads of TLOU show accounts, and Neil Druckmann follows her, which has been used as a point of evidence she has the job. And she’s got at least 3-4 inches on Pugh, if we’re still talking about needing to be physically imposing. But while neither actress is as yoked as game Abby, this is Hollywood, and anyone can transform into anything. Just ask Christian Bale.
Pugh would be more of a Pedro Pascal pick, a high profile actor playing a major role in the series. Berry would be more of a Bella Ramsey pick, a lesser known TV actor who could potentially break out big in a series like this.
And yet, what I’ve learned about insider rumors and fan casting is that…most of the time they don’t pan out at all. How many Fantastic Four cast rumors are we up to now? And we’ve already heard the showrunners say that people were surprised at who they cast for the first two major roles, and they may be similarly surprised with this one. So to me, that means no, they may not be one of the actresses that have been speculated about for the last 1-2 years, like these two.
I think either could do a fine job in the role. I had zero idea how Bella Ramsey would perform as Ellie, but she turned out to be perfect. Whether A-list or relative unknown, I’m sure the show would draw out a good performance in anyone, given how things have gone so far.
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