The Last of Us on HBO hasn’t been shy about introducing new characters, and the second season isn’t going to hold back either.
According to Variety, Joe Pantoliano (The Matrix) has joined the cast of The Last of Us Season 2 and will be playing the part of Eugene.
Some players may be wondering who Eugene was in the game, but he was mostly a character that was mentioned and has been dead by the time TLOU Part II takes place. In the game, Ellie and Dina stumble into Eugene’s lab where he used to grow pot, and the place is littered with all kinds of mementos from the character—including his Firefly pendant.
For the series, Eugene’s role is said to be expanded. We don’t know how much of Eugene will be in the series, but game director Neil Druckmann—who is also involved with the making of the series—did say, “I get excited when I see these opportunities… I’m like, ‘Oh, I don’t know Eugene that well!’ The story we told [in the game] was somewhat superficial.”
One character that was only superficial in the game who ended up getting a solid arc was Frank, Bill’s lover. In the game, Joel, Ellie, and Bill run into Frank having killed himself; and in the series, Frank gets a whole episode to tell his and Bill’s story, and to even the gamers’ surprise, they end up dying in each other’s arms.
I’m not expecting the same kind of thing to happen to Eugene, but seeing as he’s touted as a legend for dying at 73 due to natural causes in a world filled with cordyceps, maybe there’s an interesting story to milk out of that kind of character.
The Last of Us Season 2 is set to come out on Max this April.
