The Last of Us’ Kaitlyn Dever Recalls How She Nearly Played Ellie in Failed Movie

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The Last of Us’ Kaitlyn Dever Recalls How She Nearly Played Ellie in Failed Movie

Before winning the role of Abby in HBO’s The Last of Us Season 2, Kaitlyn Dever nearly played Ellie in the feature film adaptation of the video game.

How did Kaitlyn Dever nearly play Ellie in The Last of Us movie?

In 2013, Screen Gems secured distribution rights for the live-action The Last of Us movie. Neil Druckmann, one of the game’s creators, signed on to pen the screenplay, with Sam Raimi in line to direct.

Dever was one of the actresses being considered to play Ellie. While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Dever recalled meeting with Druckmann to discuss the character. Dever also learned about the making of The Last of Us Part II, a game that would not come out until 2020.

“I would literally meet Neil at Naughty Dog, and he would walk me around and show me how they created the game,” Dever said. “And they were actually making the second game when I was there.”

Though Dever did not know about Abby, Druckmann let her in on a major secret that would be revealed in the second game.

“I was seeing the first drawings of older Ellie, and he told me what happens, too,” Dever explained. “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.”

Screen Gems’ movie fell apart and never happened. However, Dever eventually worked for Druckmann on 2016’s Uncharted 4 as Cassie Drake, the daughter of Nathan Drake.

Years later, Druckmann and Craig Mazin would adapt The Last of Us for HBO. When it came time for the second season, Mazin suggested casting Dever as Abby.

“I had already seen season 1, and I was obsessed with it,” Dever added. “And, yeah, they just asked me to play Abby, which was crazy, so crazy.”

Dever can be seen in The Last of Us Season 2, which premieres April 13 on HBO and Max.