The Last Of Us season 2 casts Isabela Merced as Dina

On 15 January, it’ll mark one year since season one of HBO’s The Last of Us debuted on our screens, quickly going on to become what’s been declared as the greatest video game adaptation of all-time.

Unfortunately, we’ve got a bit of a wait ahead of us when it comes to season two. Although filming will kick off next month, the show isn’t set to return to our screens until next year. The Last of Us January returns though! On the video game front, The Last of Us Part II Remastered drops one week today. I had the opportunity to go hands-on with the new mode No Return last year and can say with confidence that fans are in for a treat. On the TV side of things, HBO has been treating us to season two casting news every single day. First, we saw Kaitlyn Dever cast as Abby, then Young Mazino as Jesse and now, we finally have our Dina.

Take a look at our hands-on preview of The Last of Us Part II Remastered’s No Return mode below.

The fantastic Isabela Merced has now joined the cast of The Last of Us as Dina. Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann had high praise for the actress, saying, “Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable. 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.”

The official character description for Dina expresses that she’s a “free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit,” all of which is true. Seasoned fans will know that Ellie and Dina’s relationship is one of the greatest sources of joy and heart within this chapter of the tale.

I’m so pleased with this casting announcement - Isabela is fantastic. You may have seen her in Dora and the Lost City of Gold, Rosaline, Transformers: The Last Knight, or heard her in the animated film Migration. The actress is also set to star in Turtles All The Way Down, adapted from the John Green novel, and Madame Web, which are both due out this year.

Isabela actually starred alongside Kaitlyn Dever in Rosaline, so our Abby and Dina have met. Isabela also took to her Instagram story to post a photo of her and Bella Ramsey (Ellie) at an industry event, captioning it, “Let the love story begin.” Oh fellow The Last of Us fans, we continue to THRIVE.