Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part IIHBO's HBO's The Last of Us has been renewed for a second season after releasing only a few episodes of season 1, highlighting the massive success that HBO's video game adaptation has achieved. Due to how faithful HBO's The Last of Us season 1 has been to the original game, the same will probably be true for season 2, with Abby playing a big part in the series' second major storyline.
Abby is the daughter of Jerry Anderson, one of the Firefly doctors that Joel kills in the first game. Because of her father's murder, Abby and her friends track down Joel and kill him, kicking off the The Last Of Us: Pedro Pascal Was Always The Perfect Joel
Julia Garner
Julia Garner is one of the top contenders when it comes to playing Abby in The Last of Us Part II. Currently, Julia Garner is 28 years old, meaning that she's in the right age range for Abby. The actress has proven that she can give fantastic performances in prestige TV shows, with Ozark's dark tone matches up with that of The Last of Us, meaning that she has prior experience that could help her in her role as Abby.
Julia Garner has played emotionally complex characters in critically acclaimed films like The Assistant, and this is one of the most important aspects of Abby. Throughout The Last of Us Part II, Abby has to go from a murderer that the audience hates to someone players can sympathize with. This feat is incredibly difficult to pull off, but Julia Garner has the acting chops to do it. Julia Garner may be available for The Last of Us season 2, as her next big project was a Madonna biopic that was just canceled.
Thomasin McKenzie
Thomasin McKenzie is another great actress who could play The Power of the Dog. McKenize has proven that she can act, but she's an ideal Abby for reasons beyond that. Thomasin is 22, making her the perfect age for Abby. She is younger than many of the other potential Abby actresses, which would work well alongside Bella Ramsey's teenage Ellie.
At its heart, The Last of Us is a horror game, and Thomasin McKenzie has loads of experience with horror. In the past few years she has been in The Last of Us' Clickers and Infected are the big threat in the games, Abby is one of the few major human villains. Although McKenzie hasn't played villainous roles, that's a good thing, as The Last of Us season 2 could mold her performance into something entirely new, not relying on past characters she has played.
Peyton List
Although Peyton List is still best known for her time at Disney Channel, the actress has recently found massive success playing Tory Nichols on Cobra Kai is ending with season 6, List may be looking for more work. Now is the perfect time for HBO to swoop in and cast Peyton List as Abby in The Last of Us season 2.
Sophie Turner
Sophie Turner is one of the more popular fancasts for Abby in The Last of Us season 2, and for good reason. Sophie Turner is an incredibly accomplished actress, appearing in movies and TV shows like Dark Phoenix. On top of that, Sophie Turner is in her mid-20s and also looks like Abby, so she could really work.
Interestingly, Sophie Turner seems more likely than the previous entries on this list. The Last of Us is an HBO show, and their casting of Bella Ramsey as Ellie shows that the network has a pattern of pulling from old HBO shows. Sophie Turner played Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, meaning that she already has connections to HBO. If HBO wanted to pull from Game of Thrones again, they could cast Sophie Turner as Abby, and she'd probably do a fantastic job.
Erin Kellyman
Erin Kellyman could also play Abby in The Last of Us Part II, and she'd be great. Kellyman's character in The Last of Us' cast of characters.
Shannon Berry
The final potential Abby actress is Shannon Berry, best known for Amazon Prime's The Wilds and the 2017 film The Gateway. Although she's not as well-known as the other actresses on this list, Berry has been a popular choice online ever since The Last of Us showrunner Neil Druckmann followed her on Instagram, igniting speculation. It's hard to deny that Shannon Berry is the spitting image of Abby, and having a relatively unknown actress would allow The Last of Us season 2 to create a completely unique character and performance that can't be found anywhere else.
New episodes of The Last of Us air Sundays on HBO.