Kaitlyn Dever's CGI Role in The Last of Us Explained

Discussions about Abby's introduction in The Last of Us Season 2 have been rampant, but few anticipated Kaitlyn Dever needing CGI to cover a (shudder) spider bite on her face.

Yet that's precisely what occurred. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Dever revealed that during filming for her early Fireflies scenes, production had to digitally conceal an "oozing" (shudder again) bite mark she sustained off-set.

"It appears in my first Fireflies episode," Dever explained. "During a break, I noticed what I thought was a pimple on my cheek. Turned out to be far worse."

"A massive spider bite that—I cringe saying it—was oozing," she continued. "The VFX team worked magic. The scar's invisible on screen, though I still bear the mark where doctors had to excise it."

Dever also reflected on channeling raw emotion for that pivotal scene. Tragically, she'd buried her mother just four days prior—the cancer battle ending shortly before filming Joel and Ellie's explosive confrontation.

"I flew out three days post-funeral. By day four, we were shooting the Fireflies' chalet sequence," she recalled. "The whole period feels fragmented—like experiencing it as both performer and viewer. Grief rewires your brain, blurring memories in strange ways."

HBO reports staggering success for Season 2, with global viewership surpassing 90 million since Season 1. Stateside, the finale drew 3.7 million cross-platform viewers—down from the premiere's 5.3 million but expected to surge post-Memorial Day weekend.

Notably, Season 1's finale holds the record at 8.2 million, leaving Season 2's climax room to grow.

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Showrunner Craig Mazin recently confirmed Season 4's necessity, stating condensing Naughty Dog's dual-game narrative into Season 3 would require "forever." While Season 3 may expand, he stressed: "This story demands more than three seasons." Mazin and Neil Druckmann also teased uncertainty around some characters' future involvement.