Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us Part II.
One of the voice actors from the video game series is open to reprising his role in The Last of Us season 2 – and his casting is way too perfect for HBO to pass it up. After adapting the first Last of Us game into the first season of the TV show, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann will begin to tackle the epic narrative of The Last of Us Part II in season 2. While it continues the story of Joel and Ellie, The Last of Us Part II also introduces a bunch of significant new characters to the ensemble.
Isabela Merced has been cast as Dina, Young Mazino has been cast as Jesse, and HBO has found actors to play the entire Salt Lake crew: Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Spencer Lord as Owen, Ariela Barer as Mel, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and Tati Gabrielle as Nora. But some of The Last of Us Part II’s most important characters, like Lev and Yara, still have yet to be cast in the TV series. One of the game’s most crucial villains hasn’t yet been cast for the TV show – and his original voice actor would be the perfect choice.
HBO still has yet to cast the role of Isaac Dixon for The Last of Us season 2. Isaac is the leader of the Washington Liberation Front and one of the key antagonists in The Last of Us Part II. He’s created the facade of a fair and friendly leader, but he’s really a militaristic tyrant who will do whatever it takes to end the W.L.F.’s civil war with the Seraphites – including risking all his soldiers’ lives for a ruthless assault on the Seraphites’ island. He’s a mentor to Abby, but she begins to question his merciless leadership.
Jeffrey Wright played the part perfectly in the game, so there’s no reason why HBO should look for someone else to play Isaac in the TV show. There’s already a precedent for the TV series to bring in voice actors from The Last of Us games, since Merle Dandridge was brought back to reprise her role as Marlene, the leader of the Fireflies, in season 1. Wright already has a good relationship with HBO after playing dual roles as Bernard Lowe and Arnold Weber in Westworld. His Last of Us season 2 casting couldn’t be set up more perfectly.
All this fan casting would be a moot point if Wright wasn’t interested in reprising his role in the TV show, but the actor has said that he’s open to playing Isaac in The Last of Us on HBO. He didn’t outright say that he’d be up for it, but he didn’t say that he wouldn’t be up for it, either. He gave a more cryptic response that could go either way: “Anything is possible. We shall see.” But the fact that Wright didn’t shut down the possibility of playing Isaac in the TV show is a good sign.
It’s customary for actors to give a diplomatic response like this without committing one way or the other. Wright probably didn’t want to say that he’d love to play Isaac in the TV show, because he doesn’t want to get fans’ hopes up or cause unnecessary speculation about casting decisions that haven’t been made yet. But he also didn’t want to deny the possibility of returning to the role, because Isaac is a great character with a lot of complexities that Wright could sink his teeth into, and the HBO show has been a brilliant adaptation so far.
The TV producers could probably find another actor who would do a serviceable job with the role of Isaac in The Last of Us season 2, but Wright is so perfect for this character. Wright is such a great actor that he’s compelling even when he’s playing a reprehensible character. When he’s playing an evil character like Isaac, he can make the audience understand his feelings and motivations even if they don’t agree with them.
Wright’s deep, brooding voice is unmistakable, and it makes everything he says captivating. Whether he was interrogating Abby about Owen’s whereabouts while casually munching on an apple or threatening to shoot Abby for protecting a child he wanted to kill, Wright brought the appropriate gravitas to every scene in The Last of Us Part II. If HBO casts someone other than Wright to play Isaac in The Last of Us season 2, they’ll be missing a great opportunity.