According to Deadline, Isabela Merced (Dora and the Lost City of Gold , Instant Family) is set to join the cast of HBO‘s The Last of Us. She is expected to be the last of three major additions for the upcoming second season along with recently cast Kaitlyn Dever (No One Will Save You, Ticket to Paradise) as Abby and Young Mazino (Beef, Glass) as Jesse.
According to Deadline, Merced is cast as Dina, Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey, Game of Thrones, Catherine Called Birdy ) romantic interest and Jesse’s (Mazino) ex. Dina is free spirit whose relationship with Ellie will be tested by the intense situations they encounter. In The Last of Us Part II game, Dina is voiced by Shannon Woodward (Jagged Mind, Westworld).
The Last of Us‘ co-creators, writers, executive producers and directors, Craig Mazin (Chernobyl, Identity Thief) and Neil Druckmann (Uncharted series), talked about their excitement about casting Merced as Dina.
“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable,” said Mazin and Druckmann to Deadline. “You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away. We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”
According to Deadline, season two will be filmed in Vancouver starting in March. The series is being filmed in Vancouver due to a significant part of the story in The Last of Us Part II video game being set in the Pacific Northwest.
The Last of Us is a co-production between HBO and Sony Pictures Television. According to Deadline, preproduction is expected to begin in February.
The Last of Us is written and executive produced by Mazin and Druckmann.
The series is executive produced by Carolyn Strauss (The Sopranos, The Wire), Evan Wells (Crash Bandicoot, Uncharted), Asad Qizilbash (Uncharted, Gran Turismo), Carter Swan (Twisted Metal, Gran Turismo), and Rose Lam (A Series of Unfortunate Events, The Firm).
Merced has recently appeared in the animated adventure comedy film, Migration, alongside Kumail Nanjiani (The Big Sick, Silicon Valley), Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games, Pitch Perfect) and Keegan-Michael Key (Wonka, Key & Peele).
Merced is repped by CAA and Peikoff Mahan.