Kaitlyn Dever Nearly Played Ellie in a “The Last Of Us” Movie 10 Years Before Landing Role as Abby on the Show

Before she was cast as Abby in The Last of Us, Kaitlyn Dever nearly nabbed the role of Ellie — 10 years before the series debuted on HBO.

The actress, 28, revealed that Screen Gems, a production company, was planning to adapt the hit video game into a movie in 2014. As Dever was on the short list to take on the leading role, she told Entertainment Weekly that she participated in table readings and even toured Naughty Dog, the gaming studio behind The Last of Us.

"I would literally meet [video game co-creator] Neil [Druckmann] at Naughty Dog and he would walk me around and show me how they created the game," she recalled. "They were actually making the second game when I was there."

Dever revealed she saw early drawings of "older Ellie" that they were planning on using in the video game sequel. Druckmann even told her how the story ends — a secret she's been keeping for "years."

But in 2015, plans for the film were scrapped.

"When that was no longer happening, Neil asked me to do Uncharted 4," Dever said. She ended up taking on the role of Cassie Drake in the action-adventure game.

Eventually, HBO announced its plans to develop the video game into a drama series, which premiered in 2023. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey landed the roles of Joel and Ellie, respectively.

By that time, Dever was too old to play the 14-year-old teenager but was considered for a different role.

Druckmann told EW that his creative partner, Mazin, came up with the idea of casting Dever as Abby, a pivotal character who makes her debut in season 2.

"I had already seen season 1, and I was obsessed with it," Dever recalled of the moment she was asked to participate in season 2. "And, yeah, they just asked me to play Abby, which was crazy, so crazy."

"Sometimes I'm like, 'Oh well, I really wanted that thing and it didn't happen.' But I believe that the things that are meant to be in your life will be in your life," she continued. "I always thought about The Last of Us.... I would say it was pretty surreal when it came back around in my life in a different way."