The Last Of Us Season 2 Casts The Great Jeffrey Wright As The Same Character He Played In The Game

You can't do better than Jeffrey Wright, so why even try? The actor is coming off his first-ever Oscar nod for "American Fiction," which is frankly shocking given the pedigree of his previous work. We're talking about the man who starred in Mike Nichols' "Angels in America" miniseries (reprising the role he played in the original Pulitzer Prize-winning play's Broadway debut), spent 15 years playing Felix Leiter, the coolest cat in the Daniel Craig James Bond movies, and was the MVP of Matt Reeves' "The Batman" as Jim Gordon. He was also everyone's favorite human-turned-host, Bernard Lowe, across all four seasons of "Westworld" and has recently become a member of Wes Anderson's acting troupe.

Now, HBO and "The Last of Us" writers/executive producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have, very wisely, elected to bring Wright back in the role that he previously tackled via voice-acting and motion-capture in 2020's "The Last of Us Part II" video game. Per Entertainment Weekly, the actor will costar in "The Last of Us" season 2 as Isaac Dixon, an antagonist whom HBO describes as "the quietly powerful leader of a large militia group who sought liberty but instead has become mired in an endless war against a surprisingly resourceful enemy." To say much more than that would be to risk spoiling what awaits our heroes when they resume their adventures in the show's post-apocalyptic, fungus zombie-overrun universe.

Wright may've been snubbed for his best performance of 2023 (his breathless, minute-long speech in Anderson's "Asteroid City") and we'll probably never find out exactly what galaxy-brain shenanigans showrunners Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy had in mind for Bernard in "Westworld" season 5, much as Nolan would love to give us a proper ending. Still, it's a comfort to know we'll be able to watch Wright do his thing in an HBO series once more when "The Last of Us" returns.

Speaking of which, there's actually a fair amount of mystery hanging over the new season. For as much as these upcoming episodes will draw from the controversial events of "The Last of Us Part II," Mazin has already said that season 2 will be "different radically" from its source material whenever he and Druckmann decide it's necessary. Season 1 certainly wasn't afraid to deviate from the first game in major ways, most of which were to the series' benefit (including its finest hour, "Long, Long Time"). Ideally, the enthusiastic response to season 1 will only encourage the showrunners to be even more daring in the way they adapt the games going forward, especially if the plan is to continue the show beyond two seasons.

As for Wright, he joins a cast that has Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal reprising their roles as Ellie and Joel, with Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley also coming back as Tommy and Maria. Major new additions in season 2 include Kaitlyn Dever as the vengeful soldier Abby and Isabela Merced as Ellie's love interest Dina, along with Young Mazino, Spencer Lord, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, and Danny Ramirez. Last, just certainly not least of all, keep you eyes peeled for the great Catherine O'Hara as a guest star this season.

"The Last of Us" season 2 will premiere on HBO and Max in 2025.