Who Is Isabela Merced, the Face of Dina in HBO’s the Last of Us Season 2? Here’s Everything You Need to Know

The Last of Us Season 2 has made yet another addition to its growing list of cast members. Fans are still celebrating the fact that Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby in season 2. TLOU2, the source for season 2 also featured the character of Dina – Ellie’s love interest. So naturally, fans were eager to know who would bring Dina to life in season 2. Well, the actress for Dina has now been revealed and she’s none other than Isabela Merced.

For the uninitiated, Isabela Merced has already made a name for herself in the last few years. In fact, she’s part of some of the biggest movies of 2024 and beyond. Joining The Last of Us Season 2 as Dina will surely be a cherry on the cake for her. But there’s a lot more fans need to know about the rising star.

Isabela Merced to appear in Marvel’s Madame Web and DCU’s Superman Legacy before The Last of Us Season 2

The American actress, voice actress, singer, songwriter, and dancer began her career as a child artist more than a decade ago. She played the role of CJ Martin on the Nickelodeon TV series ‘100 Things to Do Before High School,’ from 2014 to 2016. She also voiced Kate in Nickelodeon’s animated spinoff series ‘Dora and Friends: Into the City!’ before playing the titular character in 2019’s ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold’ movie.

The first major role for Isabela Merced, however, was in the 2017 film Transformers: The Last Knight. She portrayed the character of Izabella. In 2018’s film Sicario: Day of the Soldado, she appeared as Isabel. Not many fans might be aware of this fact, but she was previously known as Isabela Moner. The actress changed her name to Isabela Merced in memory of her grandmother, whom she never met. She had made this announcement on October 14, 2019.

Speaking of her recent appearances in films, Isabela was seen in Hulu’s 2022 movie Rosaline as Juliet. Interestingly, the film also featured Kaitlyn Dever; she’s going to work alongside Isabela once again in The Last of Us Season 2.

Read More: “We Look for World-Class Actors Who Embody the Souls of the Characters”: The Last of Us Showrunners Praise Kaitlyn Dever, the Real Abby of HBO TV Show’s Season 2

In June 2022, Isabela Merced landed a role as Anya Corazon in Marvel’s ‘Madame Web, ‘which will release on February 14. Shortly after in July 2023, Isabela Merced bagged possibly her biggest project yet with ‘Superman Legacy’. In the DC Universe movie directed by James Gunn, Isabela will play the character of superheroine Hawkgirl. The film could come out around summer 2025.

Back in March 2023, Isabela joined the cast of the upcoming ‘Alien’ movie called ‘Alien: Romulus’. It will be a new installment under the iconic franchise, while having its story set between the events of 1979’s ‘Alien’ and 1986’s ‘Aliens.’

With such an impressive resume, fans will be thrilled to see her play Dina. But you know what? Turns out Dina and Ellie have already met.

This image was shared by a credible gaming YouTuber. Both Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced attended the ELLE’s 30th Annual Women in Hollywood Celebration in Los Angeles last December. She will be joined in season 2 by Kaitlyn Dever as Abby and Young Mazino as Jesse, who in the game was Dina’s ex and loyal friend. Now just like Kaitlyn Dever, Merced too has a video game history.

Isabela Merced has got a secret connection to video games

Yes, the actress has been a part of several video games too. In 2017, Isabela appeared as Ava in ‘Kingdom Hearts x Back Cover’ short cinematic film. The latter was part of the English dub of ‘Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue’.

In 2021, the actress became a part of DreamWorks Spirit Lucky’s Big Adventure game. She voiced the character of Lucky in this title, that was launched for PC, Xbox One, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. The game allowed players to ride as Lucky with her trusted Mustang, Spirit, and her fearless best friends, Abigail and Pru, on new treasure-hunting adventures.

Now that she’s joined the cast of The Last of Us season 2, it will be interesting to see her role as Dina. The creators have already hinted that while they remain true to the source, they will take the liberty to make some changes like they did in season 1. But no matter what, this is a big win for The Last of Us.

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