Alien: Romulus director says a major role was inspired by The Last of Us - and “a year later” the same actor was cast on the HBO show
Isabela Merced was later cast as Dina in The Last of Us season 2
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Alien: Romulusdirector Fede Alvarez says Isabela Merced’s character was inspired by The Last of Us Part 2…well before she was cast in season 2 of the HBO show.
“Fun fact: I was playing #TheLastOfUs2 while writing #AlienRomulus The story of a pregnant Dina made me think of having the character of Kay be pregnant too,“Alvarez wrote on Twitter. “Then I cast Isabela Merced to play Kay…. A year later she gets cast to play Dina on the HBO show…. True story.”
The filmmaker was responding to a fan who wrote, “Tell us you’ve already played The Last of Us” in response to a tweet containing a series ofAlien: Romulus character trading cards– in which Cailee Spaeny looks a bit like the video game version of Ellie, and the characters are donning outfits and weapons that have major TLOU vibes overall.
It was announced earlier this year that Merced would play Dina, an important figure in Ellie’s adult life, inThe Last of Us season 2– which is based on the sequel to the hit video game (and is arguably much more emotionally devastating than its predecessor). No major spoilers, in case you haven’t already played the game, but her character is, in fact, pregnant – although maybe not in the same scary outer space way that Kay is in Romulus.
Fun fact: I was playing #TheLastOfUs2 while writing #AlienRomulus The story of a pregnant Dina made me think of having the character of Kay be pregnant too. Then I cast Isabella Merced to play Kay…. A year later she gets cast to play Dina on the HBO show…. True story. https://t.co/fABV9L1x1I pic.twitter.com/prDV6bHTYfAugust 24, 2024
Alien: Romulus is in theaters now. The Last of Us season 2 is set hit Max sometime in 2025. For more, check out our guides to theAlien Romulus ending explained,Alien Romulus timeline, andAlien Romulus post-credits scene.
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Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ currently based in the Midwest. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent’s Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.
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