HBO expands The Last of Us Season 2 cast with Mel, Owen, and Nora

Sure hope their characters have bright futures filled with happiness

HBO and Naughty Dog filled several more The Last of Us Season 2 cast spots, including Nora, Mel, Owen, and several other Washington Liberation Front members. Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) will play Manny; Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) plays Nora; Spencer Lord (Riverdale) plays Abby’s former lover Owen; and Ariela Barer (Runaways) will play Mel (thanks, Variety).

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These four join Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, another Washington Liberation Front member who’s a friend to most of them in the story, and Isabela Merced as Ellie’s love interest Dina. Bella Ramsey returns as Ellie, and Pedro Pascal will reprise his role as Joel.

HBO’s official descriptions call Mel “a young doctor whose commitment to saving lives is challenged by the realities of war and tribalism,” a reference to the situation in Seattle, where two factions clash in a seemingly endless cycle of violence and retribution. Manny, meanwhile, is a “loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most.

HBO calls Nora a military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past” and Owen a “gentle soul trapped in a warrior's body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate.”

All four play important roles in Ellie’s journey and Abby’s redemption, though if you’ve played The Last of Us Part 2, you know how their stories turn out. Assuming Season 2 follows the game’s narrative as closely as Season 1 did with Part 1, their paths will be far from easy.

The Last of Us Season 2 is currently in production. HBO has yet to announce a release date, though it’s expected to premiere in 2025.

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