Isabela Merced to play Dina in 'The Last of Us' Season 2

Jan. 11 (UPI) -- Isabela Merced has joined the cast of The Last of Us.

HBO announced Thursday that Merced, 22, will star in Season 2 of the post-apocalyptic drama.

The Last of Us is based on the video game series of the same name. The show follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), two survivors of a mass fungal infection that has caused a zombie-like outbreak.

Merced will play Dina, "a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit." The character is a new love interest of Ellie's and the ex of Jesse, played by Beef actor Young Mazino.

"Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly loveable," series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a statement. "You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away. We couldn't be prouder to have her join our family."

HBO also recently announced that Kaitlyn Dever will join the Season 2 cast as Abby. Merced and Dever previously collaborated on the 2022 film Rosaline.

Merced came to fame on the Nickelodeon series 100 Things to Do Before High School and has since starred in Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Dora and the Lost City of Gold and Father of the Bride (2022).

The Last of Us Season 2 will begin production early this year, with a premiere eyed for 2025.