'The Last of Us' fans are upset Kaitlyn Dever isn't as ripped as game Abby. A showrunner said the actor 'has the spirit of the game in her.'
Liane Hentscher/HBO
- "The Last of Us" season two introduces Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.
- Some fans are upset Dever is not as muscular as Abby in the PlayStation game.
- Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman said they had "different priorities" for the character.
The opening scene of "The Last of Us" season two introduces Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a former Firefly soldier — and fans are upset the actor isn't as muscular as the character in the game that the HBO series is based on.
The series begins by showing Abby and a handful of other Firefly members burying those who died in Joel's (Pedro Pascal) assault on the hospital to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey) at the end of the first season. Abby vows to seek revenge against Joel.
It's an intense moment that sets up the key conflict of the season, but some fans focused on the fact that Dever is not as physically imposing in the show as she is in the game.
In the game, Abby's size makes her an intimidating physical threat to both Joel and Ellie.
The series' showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann addressed these concerns in an interview back in February.
"We would've struggled to find someone as good as Kaitlyn to play this role," Druckmann told Entertainment Weekly, before saying that in the game, Abby is "almost like a brute in the way she can physically manhandle certain things.
"That doesn't play as big of a role in this version of the story because there's not as much violent action moment to moment. It's more about the drama. I'm not saying there's no action here. It's just, again, different priorities and how you approach it."
He later added: "Kaitlyn has the spirit of the game in her. What I always loved about the idea was that you are going to continually be challenged as you were in season one."
Mazin also praised the TV iteration of Abby, saying: "I personally think that there is an amazing opportunity here to delve into someone who is perhaps physically more vulnerable than the Abby in the game, but whose spirit is stronger.
"And then the question is, 'Where does her formidable nature come from and how does it manifest?' That's something that will be explored now and later."
Only time will tell if this approach works, especially if/when "The Last of Us" season two adapts the game's most controversial moment where Abby kills Joel with a golf club.
The 2020 game faced backlash over the brutal scene, with a vocal portion of fans complaining on social media that they had to play as Abby for certain sections of the game instead of Ellie.
Ironically, many criticized Abby's muscular physique at the time, saying that she would not be so strong in a post-apocalyptic setting.