After two other consecutive casting announcements, Max and Naughty Dog have revealed that Isabela Merced will play Ellieās girlfriend Dina in The Last of Usā second season, which is set to premiere on the streaming service in 2025. Sorry to anyone who wanted it to be that girl we saw staring at Ellie in that one scene in season one
Like Abby and Jesse before, the announcement rolled out first on Maxās social channels confirming Merced is joining the cast on January 11, followed by a second post from The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog stating that sheās playing Dina.
We can't wait to see Isabela Merced's portrayal of Dina in @TheLastOfUsHBO Season 2! ā¤ļø https://t.co/Iqz10g0urU
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) January 11, 2024
Some of Mercedās notable acting credits include playing Dora in the live-action Dora the Explorer film Dora and the Lost City of Gold, and Izabella in Transformers: The Last Knight. Later this year, sheāll appear in Madame Web as Anya Corazon, and next year sheāll play Hawkgirl in Superman: Legacy. Sheās recently done a lot of franchise workāso sheāll be somewhat comfortable in the world of TLOU
During the first season, fans thought Dina had already made an appearance in the show after a young girl who kind of looked like her was shown staring at Ellie when she and Joel first arrived in the Jackson community. Whether it was meant to be her or not, the actor in the scene, Paolina van Kleef, is not playing Dina in season two.
If youāve never played the games, Dina is easily one of the standout characters in The Last of Us Part II. Sheās Ellieās girlfriend, one of the most reliable sources of comic relief, and embodies some of the gameās larger themes in the eleventh hour. There are still a lot of characters in The Last of Us Part II who have yet to have actors confirmed for the adaptationābut all we really want is for Max to announce that game actor Ian Alexander will step into the role of Lev again, this time for the TV series. Thank you.
