Bella Ramsey starred as Ellie in HBO’s live-action adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us video game. The narrative of the series as well as the cast performances including Ramsey and Pedro Pascal as Joel received critical acclaim and widespread love from audiences. The first season proved to be a fitting adaptation of the first game.
The makers have already written the second season and halted the production of the second season due to the Hollywood strikes. With production expected to start sometime next year, Ramsey is excited about the prospects that the new season will bring and adapting core elements from the second game.
Bella Ramsey is Excited to Explore Ellie’s Romantic Storyline in Season 2
The first season of The Last of Us proved to be a faithful adaptation of the 2013 game. Bella Ramsey as Ellie beautifully recaptured the nuanced and complex way the character was portrayed in the game by Ashley Johnson. The show also showed the short loved tragic romance between Ellie and Storm Reid’s Reily.
As production for the second season is expected to start sometime next year, Ramsey spoke to Collider about her expectations and what she wants to see adapted from the second game. She particularly points out the beautiful relationship between Ellie and Dina in the second game and expresses her desire to do that justice. She said,
“Yeah, lots of things. I’m excited for the really intense stuff, because I did a bit of that in Season 1 obviously, but to do that. And actually more physical scenes because Ellie is obviously more physically fit in Season 2. I love stunt stuff, and like waking up with bruises the next day, and finding myself with a black eye, just because it feels like so good to have done it.
So I’m looking forward to doing that stuff, and also the Dina storyline. Because obviously, I had the one episode in Season 1 with Ellie and Riley, but to have it as a storyline throughout the whole of the second game in terms of Ellie and Dina is really exciting.”
The relationship between Dina and Ellie was one of the major focuses of the second game in addition to the rivalry between the latter and Abby. There have been recent rumors that the character of Abby Anderson will be played by Booksmart actress Kaitlyn Dever. Whoever the makers end up casting, fans hope that the relationship between the two characters translates well like in the game.
Makers of The Last of Us Confirm that Bella Ramsey Won’t be Recast In Season 2
The second part of The Last of Us game featured a significant time jump from the events of the first game. The second game starts with a five-year time jump and Ellie is seen physically grown in the second game compared to the first. Many fans assumed that Bella Ramsey who played Ellie in the first season would be recast in the second season considering the time jump.
The makers of the show have dismissed these assumptions and made it clear that Ramsey will indeed continue to play Ellie in the second season as well. The fact that she will be closer to Ellie’s age in the second game is more assurance that Ramsey will comfortably slip into being Ellie again. (Ellie is 18 years old in Part 2 and Ramsey is currently 20). The creator of the show Craig Mazin said (via Entertainment Weekly),
“One of the things about the casting process that’s tough is that we invite people to join us on this process, and we know everything [about the secrets of the production] and nobody else knows anything except what they know, which is the game,” Mazin explained. “We know what we’re gonna do in terms of costume and makeup and hair, but more importantly, we also know the spirit and soul of the actor.”
The makers have also confirmed that the second game will be told through multiple seasons. This is a clever decision as the second game has a much bigger scope and narrative ground to cover. Fans are excitedly anticipating the return of Ellie and Joel in a more intense and compelling second season of The Last of Us. The first season of the show is available to stream on Max.
