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FILM & TV

Jeffrey Wright Signs Onto The Last of Us Season Two

Hot off his Oscar nomination for the film American Fiction, Jeffrey Wright has signed onto his next project, the Emmy-nominated HBO drama The Last of Us.
Liane Hentscher/HBO

Hot off his Oscar nomination for the film American Fiction, Jeffrey Wright has signed onto his next project, the Emmy-nominated HBO drama The Last of Us.

Deadline reports that Wright will appear in the hit series’ second season, currently filming in Canada. According to the article, Wright will portray Isaac, the leader of a large militia group called the Washington Liberation Front. He previously voiced this character in the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II, which the second season is adapting.

Wright is not the first actor from the video game cast to return for the series. Actress Merle Dandridge, who depicted the character of Marlene in the games, returned for the first season of the series. In addition, actors Troy Baker, Ashley Johnson, and Jeffrey Pierce made guest appearances in season one after taking on major roles in the first game. Season two will premiere in the first half of 2025.

The first season of The Last of Us premiered in January of 2023. Starring Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, Game of Thrones) and Bella Ramsey (Hilda), season one explored the growing relationship between survivors Joel and Ellie as they embark on a postapocalyptic journey. In its initial run that series received universal praise and was nominated for Emmys in 24 categories. It’s the first video game adaptation to be in contention for major awards.

This season, Ramsey will take more of a central role alongside newcomer Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick), while Pascal’s Joel is a bit more out of focus. Those who have tried the second game will know why Joel is more absent. Not to mention, The Fantastic Four, also starring the actor, begins production in July.

In addition to Dever and Wright, the second season will introduce a bevy of new actors to the postapocalyptic world of The Last of Us. They include Young Manzino (Beef), Isabela Merced (Turtles All the Way Down), Tati Gabrielle (The Owl House), and Danny Ramirez (Top Gun Maverick). You can watch the first season on MAX here.