HBO has disappointed “The Last of Us” fans yet again by casting cisgender actress Kyriana Kratter for season three to play Lev, a transgender boy, according to Deadline.
Lev is introduced in “The Last of Us Part II” as a second-in-command protagonist with a complicated history. His transgender identity is a huge part of his character, and “The Last of Us” casting directors did the true fans and queer audiences a huge disservice with this casting choice.
That being said, none of the blame should be taken out on Kratter. She is a 15-year-old actress who booked a job on a record-breaking show, and most likely saw this as a great opportunity to jumpstart her acting career. People sending her personal hate is not justified, and as a massive fan of the franchise myself, I am aware of where the true blame lies. And that is with the casting directors and showrunner, Craig Mazin.
Mazin’s work on HBO’s “Chernobyl,” blew me away and I was so excited to hear he was working on “The Last of Us.” After witnessing his vision for this show, Mazin has been nothing but disrespectful to the source material, specifically in the second season. I knew the show was veering off track when they casted the main antagonist of the second game, Abby Anderson.
Game-Abby is a very muscular and revenge-hungry character, whose stature and physicality plays a huge role in her development. They cast actress Kaitlyn Dever for the TV adaptation after the first season aired. While she is an incredibly talented actress, she does not even come close to fitting game-Abby’s description. Especially when there are plenty of talented actresses who model the source materials body type and showed interest in playing the role.
Mazin stated on “The Last of Us Podcast,” he didn’t feel “obliged” to represent Abby’s body type in the show, and that it only makes sense for gameplay’s sake to differentiate playing as the main protagonist, Ellie, versus Abby. When Mazin dismissed Abby’s build and character arc entirely, it did not shock me when they did not cast a transgender actor for Lev.
Once the creator of “The Last of Us” game, Neil Druckmann, stepped down from directorial and writing roles in the HBO adaptation after season two aired, I knew season three was going to be an absolute dumpster fire.
Lev is one of the characters from this franchise that I hold close to my heart. His story further builds the universe and paints a picture of how extreme religious beliefs can morph into something savage in a post-apocalyptic scenario. His former cult, the Seraphites, is incredibly transphobic towards him by deadnaming and ridiculing him. He was born a girl, but never felt comfortable with that identity. The Seraphites assigned him to be a wife to one of the elders instead of becoming a soldier like the men would. Out of protest, Lev shaves his head, changes his name and he and his sister leave the Seraphites.
Finding an Asian-American transgender masculine boy under the age of 16 could be seen as a very tall order for a casting director. Except that it is not, because it has been done already. Ian Alexander was cast as the voice and motion capture actor for “The Last of Us Part II,” and said they were hoping to reprise their role in the HBO adaptation. “The Last of Us” showrunners love when actors from the source material reprise their roles — considering the other actors from the game that have returned to the show, including Merle Dandridge, Jeffrey Wright and more.
Since the first game released in 2013, the developers have not shied away from LGBTQIA+ representation. These queer storylines brought in a whole new demographic of gamers; an attentive queer audience who wanted to see their identity portrayed in a massively successful video game. Fans across the world have said that the queer stories told in this franchise have helped them accept their own identity.
The casting directors making this controversial decision is not at all surprising, but incredibly disappointing. Unless they are planning on changing Lev’s character and erasing his transgender identity — which would be even worse — why would they not cast a transgender actor? There have been a plethora of actors who perfectly fit Lev’s attributes that have said on social media they would have been ecstatic to audition. What happened to the lost art of an open casting call? Why would they not cast a young boy instead of a girl? This act is inherently transphobic, which is incredibly ironic considering their audience and reference material.
I cannot imagine how transgender identifying fans of “The Last of Us” are feeling with this casting choice. As a massive fan of this franchise, I am utterly disgusted by this decision. Lev is such a cherished character by the fans, and this casting decision was just a spit in the face to the game creators.
Since the show initially aired I had to constantly remind myself that this show is an adaptation. Not everything from a video game will translate perfectly to television, considering the major timeline and plot changes in both seasons respectively. In spite of that, minority representation is the key to a show that relies heavily on the character’s journey to carry the plot.
I view the game universe and the HBO adaptation as two separate entities. The game universe is utterly perfect in my eyes and the adaptation can be taken less seriously. No matter what happens in the upcoming season, this dreadful casting choice and harrowing creative choices will not sour this franchise.
