Something that can’t be ignored when it comes to certain stories is the passing of time. While many stories we know and love take place within a short period and thus focus on the same characters without much change, not all are that way. Some stories feature a time jump; when that happens on a TV show or movie, they have to cast actors to play each “phase” of their life. For example, when HBO confirmed the Last Of Us Season 2, many wondered if Bella Ramsay would be recast in the second season due to the time jump that happens between the games.
However, after the climatic season finale last night, Naughty Dog’s Neil Druckmann, who also serves as a writer for the HBO adaptation of his beloved game, assured fans once again that Bella Ramsay wouldn’t be recast for the second season and for a very basic reason:
“When we made the game, I felt we were incredibly lucky,” Druckmann said in a press conference attended by IGN. “It was like lightning in the bottle that we found Ashley Johnson. I can’t imagine that version of Ellie being anybody else. And then somehow we got lightning in the bottle again with Bella.
We are extremely lucky to have Bella and the stuff you saw throughout this entire season. The only way we would ever, ever consider recasting Bella is if she said, ‘I don’t want to work with you guys anymore.’ Even then, I’m not sure we would grant her that. We might still force her to come back to Season 2.”
Thankfully, no forcing is necessary, as Ramsay has already talked about the second season and said she’s ready to get filming.
Another key thing to note is that, ironically, Bella Ramsay is currently 19. That’s the same age as Ellie in the second game. Furthermore, in the first season, Joel admits he’s 55, which is Joel’s age in the second game. So while there likely will be a small time jump between the first season and the second, it won’t be as dramatic as the one in the game.
Many questions about The Last Of Us Season 2 loom in fans’ minds, and we have slowly gotten answers to them. That includes how the second season will be structured and whether it’ll cover what the game did fully.
It’ll be a long wait for Season 2 to arrive, but fans will happily wait if it’s as good as Season 1.
