Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced were seen shooting season two in British Columbia
HBO is shooting The Last of Us’ second season, and while we’ve gotten an official look at Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie, most of what we’ve seen of the Last of Us Part II adaptation has been from since-deleted unofficial set photos. More such pictures from the Vancouver set have surfaced, and some fans are feeling iffy about the show’s attempts to recreate Ellie’s look from the sequel. But hey, we also got to see our first glimpse at the Seraphite cult she and others will be facing throughout multiple seasons of the show.
Celebrity news outlet Canadagraphs posted photos of Ramsey and Isabela Merced on set and in costume as Ellie and Dina, offering the best view we’ve gotten of the two on what appears to be their vengeance-driven trip to Seattle. As seen in previous set photos, Ramsey has their hair pulled back in a similar fashion to Ellie’s in the sequel, but is notably longer. Here, they are wearing the gray-blue overshirt and jeans Ellie wears during the Seattle segments.
This is the first time we’ve seen Ramsey sporting Ellie’s tattoo. It depicts a moth landing on a fern and goes down the length of her right forearm. She uses this to cover up a chemical burn where her infected cordyceps bite once was, thus allowing her to hide her immunity. However, as we see more of the show’s costuming, fans are starting to nitpick with the finer details, such as the hairstyles and tattoo size/placement not being quite one-to-one with Ellie’s in-game model.
it’s smaller and placed differently https://t.co/cBl6y6XH9f pic.twitter.com/Ss3uQKQVII
— ellie (@gobighorns) July 8, 2024
I swear to god there are online cosplayers that did a better job than this shit portrayal (not referring to a change of the cast) https://t.co/a2ejSAu6Oq pic.twitter.com/mMMX221PBq
— Emanzii ⚫️💙⭐️🌟🏆 (@Emanzii) July 9, 2024
ellie’s fuckass bob is nowhere to be seen and the tattoo is ugly as hell..did they even try https://t.co/TTB34ewsVQ pic.twitter.com/iilFA6qUfP
— anggi (@lovesluvv) July 8, 2024
tattoo too small in the wrong spot no butch bob what is going AWHN here
don’t give me that ‘why does it matter’ either bc the tattoo literally covers her big ass bite scar https://t.co/mL1QFVM8jT pic.twitter.com/7WFzHRMVpU
— 𝒜𝓈𝒽 ⚰️🦇 𝕥𝕙𝕖𝕪/𝕙𝕖 (@gothspacedyke) July 9, 2024
it’s smaller and placed differently https://t.co/cBl6y6XH9f pic.twitter.com/Ss3uQKQVII
— ellie (@gobighorns) July 8, 2024
they didn’t even try im crying https://t.co/TEwollXxnr
— elmo🇩🇴🇮🇪 (@steeeambyshelly) July 9, 2024
While there was certainly some pushback about Ellie and Dina’s looks in the show, plenty of other fans argued that in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t have a huge effect on the show’s story and character arcs. Ramsey is not an exact replica of Ellie, so some accommodations have to be made. Also, if people want to watch something that is identical to the game, they could…play the game.
While Ellie and Dina have people in their feelings, folks seem pretty universally positive on what seems to be the first look at the Seraphites. These people are a cult in Seattle, and Ellie is mostly passing through their story during her time in the city, and some of the set photos show what appears to be a group of actors in costume between takes. Based on what we know about HBO’s plans for The Last of Us, it’s likely we’ll see more of the Seraphites in season three, if the show divides Part II’s story the same way as the game. But we’ll avoid diving too deep into that hypothetical for spoilers’ sake.
Seraphites confirmed! 🔥
First look at Scars in The Last of Us Season 2 pic.twitter.com/Y8VtuzbYS2
— The Last of Us News (@TheLastofUsNews) July 9, 2024
The Last of Us’ second season will premiere in 2025. Ramsey and Pascal are reprising their roles, but the show will include several new cast members, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.
