Posted in: HBO, TV | Tagged: HBO, hbo max, Melanie Lynskey, the last of us

The Last of Us: Melanie Lynskey Interested in Kathleen Prequel Series

Melanie Lynskey would be interested in returning to HBO's "The Last of Us" universe for a prequel series focused on Kathleen's backstory.

Anyone who follows The Last of Us franchise has an idea of what's in store for season two, at least on paper. It will cover the events of 2020's Part II, which will introduce a secondary lead (aside from Ellie) in Abby, the Washington Liberation Front soldier who was directly affected by the events of Part I. Game fans are aware of her controversial nature, as are the artists who had to deal with the toxicity. Similar to other popular apocalyptic genre franchises like The Walking Dead, there aren't any inherently heroic or even innocent characters that haven't been molded in some way by trauma, especially with Joel and Ellie, played by Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, respectively, in the series. Melanie Lynskey is interested in revisiting her character in Kathleen, an original character in the HBO series.

The Last of Us: Melanie Lynskey on Kathleen Prequel Series

"If they wanted to go back and do an origin story, I would be there for it," Lynskey told Variety. "The story of how this woman got into this crazy position would be really interesting." What little we do know is that Kathleen ended up as leader of an anti-government militia group that overthrew FEDRA in Kansas City. While she commanded the loyalty of her soldiers, the primary target of her ire is Henry (Lamar Johnson), who she blamed for her husband's death at the hands of FEDRA. She stopped at nothing in rounding up witnesses and suspects for leads before summarily executing them when she felt they were no longer useful.

"I've never played a video game," Lynskey admitted prior to taking the role on the series based on the Naughty Dog PlayStation games. "My thumbs don't work that way. I didn't even play Atari. I was reading books. I was reading D.H. Lawrence when I was a child." Her husband Jason Ritter, who played an infected himself on the HBO series, convinced her to take the part: "He said, 'You have to do it, no questions asked.' I was like, 'But I'm tired.' He was like, 'I don't care.'" Kathleen's fate in The Last of Us was sealed after Joel & company took out a sniper monitoring a local suburb. With her forces closing in on him, Ellie, Henry, and his brother Sam (Keivonn Woodard), she triggered an infected horde that ended up overtaking everyone buying time for the four to escape her clutches.

Given how much Part II dives into flashbacks and how creators Craig Mazin and Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann said the game will go beyond season two, there's probably more room for Lynskey to return and tell more of Kathleen's story since she did share a smidge of what her life was like before she became numb and hardened by the apocalypse.

Enjoyed this? Please share on social media!

Stay up-to-date and support the site by following Bleeding Cool on Google News today!