Isabela Merced’s role in “The Last of Us” inspired “Alien: Romulus”
This article contains spoilers for Alien: Romulus.
The audience that saw Isabela Merced’s performance in Alien: Romulus might have a feeling of déjà vu if you watch Season 2 of HBO’s The Last of Uswill be published in 2025.
In a wild case of on-screen serendipity, Romulus Director Fede Álvarez revealed that Merced’s pregnant character Kay in his Foreigner Sequel was inspired by the The Last of Us Video game character Dina, who the actress is also supposed to portray.
“Fun fact: I was playing #TheLastOfUs2 while writing #AlienRomulus,” he told X on Friday. “The story of a pregnant Dina gave me the idea to make the character Kay pregnant too. Then I cast Isabella Merced in the role of Kay… A year later she is cast in the role of Dina in the HBO series… True story.”
The director’s latest behind-the-scenes secret comes after he was temporarily absent from a Foreigner Subreddit for “impersonating himself” in a spoiler-filled reveal about characters Kay and her cousin Bjorn (Spike Fearn).
“Right before Björn’s death, he and Kay touch each other in a very intimate way. Am I the only one who sees this as a sign that Björn is the ‘jerk’ who got her pregnant?” the Reddit user asked, to which Álvarez replied: “Yes, he is. Well spotted!”
The seventh part of the series, which takes place between the events of the first two films, Foreigner (1979) and Aliens (1986) – follows a group of young space colonists as they raid an abandoned space station and come face to face with a Xenomorph.
Co-written by Álvarez and Rodo Sayagues, Alien: Romulus also stars Caliee Spaeny, David Jonsson, Archie Renaux and Aileen Wu. The film grossed $108.2 million worldwide, the second-best opening of the franchise and a career high for both Álvarez and Spaeny.
In a promo spot for Max’s 2024-25 season released earlier this month, there is a first look at season 2 of The Last of Us previewed Merced’s portrayal of Dina, who serves as the partner, co-conspirator, and eventual lover of Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey) in the video game.
