Jeffrey Wright will reprise his role from The Last of Us Part 2 for the HBO show’s second season

HBO’s The Last of Us has added another high-profile actor to its cast, but this time, there’s some overlap with the games.

Jeffrey Wright joins The Last of Us Season 2 as Isaac, the same character he played in Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II. As HBO describes, Isaac is “the strong, quiet leader of a large militia group seeking freedom but instead becomes mired in an endless war against a surprisingly resourceful enemy.”

This isn’t the first time HBO has used a video game actor to reprise his role. The first season saw Merle Dandridge return to play Marlene, the character she created in the first game (you can read my deep dive with Dandridge about the experience here). Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson, who played Joel and Ellie in the games respectively, also appeared in the first season, but not as the characters they played in the Naughty Dog series (actress Abby Laura Bailey also He had a brief cameo at the end).

However, Wright is known for much more than The Last of Us, with a number of notable roles throughout his long career. These include another hit HBO drama, Westworld, for which he received three Emmy nominations, as well as playing James Gordon in The Batman and appearances in the Wes Anderson films Asteroid City and French Dispatch. Most recently, he received his first Oscar nomination for his lead role in last year’s American Fiction, which IGN gave a 10/10 in our review.

Wright is the latest addition to the cast of The Last of Us Season 2, which has been gradually filling out over the past few months. He joins fellow new cast members Danny Ramirez (Manny), Ariella Barrer (Mel), Tati Gabrielle (Nora), Spencer Lord (Neil), Catherine O’Hara (secret role), Young Mazzino (Jesse), and Isabella Merced, who will take on the On our main role. However, the most anticipated new choice was undoubtedly Abby, one of the protagonists of The Last of Us Part II, which went to Kaitlyn Dever.

Meanwhile, Bella Ramsay and Pedro Pascal will return as Ellie and Joelle, respectively. HBO released the first official photos of the two in Season 2 earlier this month (although a batch of leaked photos also gave us a glimpse at the highly anticipated follow-up).

HBO hasn’t revealed an official release date for The Last of Us Season 2, but it’s expected to be sometime in 2025. In the meantime, read our review of Season 1 at 9/10.

Alex Stedman is a senior news editor at IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.