It sounds like filming on The Last of Us Season 2 is nearing completion. Filming for the second season of the successful HBO adaptation of the popular PlayStation series began almost six months ago.

The production update came from Isabela Merced during a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast. Merced is set to play Dina, Ellie’s partner in the second game, in the upcoming season.

“We are at the end of development. I think we will be finished soon.” she said. “I’ve already seen the teaser. Craid showed it to me. It was phenomenal and I’m so excited for the world to see it.”

Speaking about her familiarity with the game, Merced revealed that she played the second game and was amazed at how similar the sets in the series were to it.

“It’s so great and I’ve found that every day on set is a challenge.” she said. “It’s a show about mushrooms, so it’s not glamorous at all. And it’s difficult topics and conversations. Fear is one of the main emotions we experience throughout.”

Merced also praised co-star Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in the series. “I am really proud of Bella,” she added. “I really hope Bella gets her flowers. They work really, really hard physically and emotionally and mentally.”

The conversation then shifted to the toxicity that sometimes surrounds the show due to its controversial characters and themes – particularly surrounding the character Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever on the series. This led to Merced revealing something surprising (and sad).

“There are people who really hate Abby, even though she is not a real person,” Merced said when the interviewer mentioned the potential hate Kaitlyn would experience simply for being Abby. “Just a reminder, not a real person. Kaitlyn had to be especially well protected during filming.”

While Abby is one of the playable characters in The Last of Us In Season 2, her controversial actions in the game caused many people to immediately dislike her. I won’t give away what she does exactly, but let’s just say it sparked significant backlash online that continues to this day.

It’s unclear if her actions from the game will make their way into Season 2 or if we’ll have to wait for that fateful moment later in the series. Either way, anyone familiar with the game knows what to expect from her.

HBO has not yet released an official trailer for The Last of Us Season 2, although footage was shown at the end of a montage of shows running in 2024 and 2025 on HBO and its streaming service Max.

The Last of Us Season 2, which will consist of seven episodes, is scheduled to be released in 2025.