Jeffrey Wright to Appear in ‘The Last of Us’

(Left) Jeffrey Wright attends the Los Angeles Premiere of MGM’s ‘American Fiction’ at Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on December 05, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for MGM. (RIght) HBO Max’s ‘The Last of Us.’ Photo: Warner Media.

Preview:

Jeffrey Wright is joining ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2.
He’ll play Isaac, a militia leader.
The second season is now shooting.

As work continues apace on the second season of hit video game adaptation ‘The Last of Us’, we’ve been learning about the various people who are joining the likes of stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the cast for the HBO series.

The latest recruit for the show is Jeffrey Wright, who needs little introduction at this point, but already has a history with the game itself –– he voiced (and was used for performance capture) of a character called Isaac in ‘The Last of Us Part II’.

“When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light.”

TV-MA1 SeasonsJanuary 15th, 2023

What’s the story of ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2?

Pedro Pascal in ‘The Last of Us.’ Photo: Warner Media.

‘The Last of Us’ takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, played by Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Producers/Showrunners Craig Mazin (‘Chernobyl’) and Neil Druckmann (creator of the original game) have yet to detail exactly what the new season will cover.

The first season of ‘The Last of Us’ covered much of games ‘The Last of Us Part I’ and ‘The Last of Us: Left Behind’, which means it is likely that Season 2 will cover at least part of ‘The Last of Us Part II’. There is also potential for it to cover some of the time between Part I and Part II, as there is a five-year time jump in the video game. Ellie, 14 in Part I and Left Behind, is 19 in Part II, and she and Joel have been living in Jackson since they left the Fireflies in Salt Lake City.

Mazin has said that because of its size, Season Two will only adapt part of the second game.

Who is Isaac in the world of ‘The Last of Us’?

Wright’s Isaac in the game is the quietly powerful leader of a large militia group, known as the Washington Liberation Front, who sought liberty but instead has become mired in an endless war against a surprisingly resourceful enemy.

Who else is in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2?

(L to R) Bella Ramsey, and Pedro Pascal in ‘The Last of Us.’ Photo: Warner Media.

With Pascal and Ramsey both back for the new season, the cast of the show is growing and changing as their quest continues.

We’ve already learned that Gabriel Luna, Kaitlyn Dever, Young Manzino, Isabela Merced and Catherine O’Hara will all be part of the new season’s cast.

Wright is the second actor to reprise his own voice role, after Merle Dandridge did the same for her character Marlene in Season 1.

When will ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 be on screens?

HBO has yet to indicate when the show will return, but given the production schedule and heavy effects load, the company has already warned fans not to expect the new season before 2025.

Jeffrey Wright stars as Thelonious “Monk” Ellison in writer/director Cord Jefferson’s ‘American Fiction,’ an Orion Pictures Release. Photo credit: Claire Folger. © 2023 Orion Releasing LLC. All Rights Reserved.