HBO’s The Last of Us series got its first teaser trailer this week, and included in it was an unexpected appearance by actress Melanie Lynskey. Known recently for her role as the adult version of Shauna in Showtime’s Yellowjackets, Lynskey had not previously been confirmed for a role in The Last of Us with the actress herself regarding the appearance as a “surprise.” What’s more, it looks like she’ll be playing a totally new character for The Last of Us as well alongside the established ones like Joel and Ellie.
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You’ll see Lynskey’s character appear only briefly in the trailer around the 1:02 mark. After Bella Ramsey’s Ellie is shown crawling under a table, we see Lynskey’s unnamed character in a city setting. She’s apparently playing the leader of a revolutionary movement taking place in Kansas City which must be why she sure looks like she’s in charge of whatever’s going on during that part of the trailer.
For those looking for confirmation, Lynskey confirmed the “surprise” appearance on Twitter by resharing the teaser trailer. In a follow-up tweet shared in response to someone asking how she came to be a part of this show, she said it was due to her being a fan of Craig Mazin, the executive producer and co-writer who’s also known for his work on Chernobyl.
For those wondering how Kansas City factors into all of this, HBO confirmed previously that the city will be one of the main settings in The Last of Us after it was stated that Henry and Sam, two characters from the first game, would be found there. These characters were originally found in Pittsburgh amid spats with the Hunters faction. While not explicitly named here in the trailer, it sure looks like that’s the group that the scenes and description of Lynskey’s character are alluding to.
HBO didn’t give a specific date for the release of The Last of Us but confirmed that the show would make its debut in 2023. For those waiting for more Yellowjackets, we know that filming of the second season recently got underway at the end of August.