We asked AI to cast The Last of Us Season 2

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: (L-R) Lamar Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, Storm Reid, Nico Parker, Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Merle Dandridge and Gabriel Luna attend the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO's "The Last Of Us" at Regency Village Theatre on January 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 09: (L-R) Lamar Johnson, Jeffrey Pierce, Storm Reid, Nico Parker, Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Merle Dandridge and Gabriel Luna attend the Los Angeles Premiere of HBO's "The Last Of Us" at Regency Village Theatre on January 09, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Season 2 of The Last of Us is officially on the way, but mystery still surrounds the casting of Part 2’s additional roles. So, we thought we’d ask AI who it would cast for Season 2.

It’s already been confirmed that Bella Ramsey is set to return as Ellie in HBO’s hit video game adaptation of The Last of Us. Naturally, the announcement of Season 2 has begun to generate a lot of buzz amongst fans and gamers alike.

But those familiar with The Last of Us Part 2 know that there are some significant moments to come, and some important characters we’ve yet to be introduced to in the show. Namely, Abby. But so far, both HBO and Naughty Dog has been tight-lipped about the casting for the show’s next season.

Everyone’s got their ideal fan casts for Season 2, but who could realistically pull off the challenging roles is a different story. So we left it to AI to figure out. We posed the question: “who would you cast in HBO’s The Last of Us Part 2. What we got in response was… Interesting.

We asked AI to cast The Last of Us Season 2

Interestingly, AI decided to ignore the fact that we already have our Ellie and Joel perfectly cast. Instead it offered some new suggestions on who could fill the role, maybe in the event that a recast was crucial.

According to AI, the casting choice for Ellie could be Kaitlyn Dever, Hailee Steinfeld, or Maisie Williams. “They have all played tough, resilient characters in the past, and could bring the necessary emotional depth to the role,” it said.

As for Joel, AI suggested Hugh Jackman, Gerard Butler, or Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, saying, “hey have the physicality and acting chops to portray a grizzled survivor like Joel.”

But, the tool did manage to come up with some casting for new character Abby, suggesting Gina Carano, Ronda Rousey, or Charlize Theron — a very interesting pool of actors. According to AI, “They all have experience playing physically strong and imposing characters.”

It’s easy to see the limitations of AI in this sense, failing to take into account actor popularity or likely availability. But, who’s to say these names couldn’t crop up further down the line. We’ll just have to wait and see what HBO and Naughty Dog have in store.