Isabella Merced cast for Jewish role in ‘The Last of Us’

For the second season of the series, ‘The Last of Us’, HBO has cast for the role of Dina, the Jewish love interest of the main protagonist Ellie, Isabela Merced, Variety reported on Thursday.

Merced has starred in several films recently, including ‘Rosaline,’ ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold,’ as well as ‘Instant Family,’ the ‘Father of the Bride’ remake, ‘Sicario: Day of the Soldado,’ and ‘Transformers: The Last Knight.’ 

A very successful show 

The first season of the show was extremely successful, with three Golden Globe nominations as well as 25 Emmy nominations. The Primetime Emmy Awards are due to take place on January 15, and the show has already won eight Emmys for the Creative Arts Emmys. 

This HBO series is based on a video game also entitled ‘The Last of Us.’ The official description of the game states, “The story takes place twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the US and depend on each other for survival.” 

Casting amid underrepresentation controversy 

The game itself has many Jewish references and mentions.

The casting of Merced in a Jewish role in the series comes amid criticisms from Jewish entertainers alleging an underrepresentation of Jews. 

Earlier this month, some 260 Jewish entertainers sent an open letter to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, calling it to include Jews as an "underrepresented" group in its diversity standards.