The Last Of Us’ Isabela Merced Wanted To Play Part 2 Over Watching On YouTube

In January 2023, The Last of Us Season One on HBO became the year’s must-see show as it delved head-on into Naughty Dog’s award-winning PlayStation title. Even though Fallout is holding the mighty torch presently as the ultimate game adaptation of the year, season 2 looks like it could give the Bethesda title a run for its money.

As season 2 draws closer, Isabela Merced, who is set to take on the role of Dina, Bella Ramsey’s love interest, talks about how she wanted to play The Last of Us Part 2 instead of just watching it on YouTube to really get a feel for the source character she’d be taking on.

To really get a feel for the complex characters behind HBO’s The Last of Us, getting stuck into its source material can offer a keen insight into what makes each character tick, like why they behave a certain way or what their fears are. Isabela Merced will be filling the huge shoes of Dina, Ellie’s partner who assists her in her quest for revenge, and there’s no better way to get to know how their relationship develops than actually playing The Last of Us Part 2.

In an interview with Collider, Merced was advised by showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin to check out Part 2 on YouTube to get a feel for the game initially, before offering her a role or telling her about Dina. Rather than watching some random stranger, Merced decided to take the situation into her own hands and play Part 2 herself.

” Neil and Craig [Mazin] had reached out to my team and they said, ‘We wanna meet with her for The Last of Us ?’ And my team was like, ‘Hey, for what role?’ And they didn’t specify. They just said, ‘Have her watch the game on YouTube.’ And I was like, ‘I wanna play the game.’ And then, we had a meeting and they proposed it at the meeting.”

In the same interview, Merced also commented on how much chemistry she and Bella had when they first met. “I’m so excited for people to see my chemistry with Bella. Bella and I have so much chemistry. From the first day, it was there.”

As fans of the game will know, Dina and Ellie’s relationship is electrifying and tense as they get to know more about each other but also how they rely on each other through hardships, so to hear that Merced has already acquired that important and much-needed foundation with Bella already means that we are sure to see more than a few fireworks when Season two airs next year.

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