Joe Pantoliano will appear in The Last of Us Season 2, playing a character who was mentioned but never properly appeared in the game.
The Last of Us is returning to TV screens on April 13, 2025, with Season 2 following the further adventures of Joel and Ellie on post-apocalypse earth.
The show is adapting video game sequel The Last of Us Part II across multiple seasons, meaning new antagonist Abby will be added to the mix. Albeit a slightly less physically imposing version.
Another character will be making their debut in the show, who has previously been spoken about in the game, but only seen in a photograph.
Joe Pantoliano plays Eugene in The Last of Us Season 2
In a wide-ranging interview with The Last of Us showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, Variety reveals that ‘Eugene’ will play a major role in Season 2. Ellie and her friend Dina found his abandoned cannabis den in the game, but never actually layed eyes on him.
The character will have an expanded role in the show – similar to the Bill and Frank characters in Season 1 – and be played by Joe Pantoliano, best known for memorable turns in The Goonies, Memento, The Matrix, and more recently Bad Boys For Life.
Druckmann says he jumped at the chance to build out the character, saying: “I get excited when I see these opportunities. I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial. The way this character comes in really gets to the heart of Joel and Ellie and their relationship.”
Mazin adds: “The game has so many little flourishes. You find notes that have their own little story to them.”
There’s also been more Season 2 casting news, with Robert John Burke joining the ensemble as Seth, who runs a bar in the Wyoming community where Joel and Ellie now live, and Noah Lamanna playing Kat, who used to date Ellie.
They are both from the games, while three actors are playing brand-new characters, with Alannah Ubach cast Hanrahan, Ben Ahlers playing Burton, and Hettienne Park joining the ensemble as Elise Park.
The Last of Us returns to HBO on April 13, 2025, while you can head here for how fans believe Season 2 will end, plus rumors of a game sequel.
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