The Last of Us Abby theory gets shut down by Neil Druckmann

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Last of Us finale and The Last of Us Part 2 game.

The Last of Us season finale has left viewers reeling as they reacted to Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) decision to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey), as well as some of the new powerful additions to the game's storytelling. The final episode has also sparked a whole load of fan theories too, including some thinking they spotted a major character lurking in the background.

Viewers are convinced they saw a shadowy figure with a braid in the background of the hospital scenes. Given that in The Last of Us Part 2 game, we find out that Abby is actually there after this scene, some thought it could be her in the background.

However, when he was quizzed about this on Kinda Funny, co-creator Neil Druckmann shut the theory down. "Okay, I’ll kill that rumor," he simply replied. "That is not Abby."

Reacting to this on Reddit, many pointed out that it was quite clear it wasn’t Abby if you look closely. "Kinda silly to think it was anyway IMO because Abby would be a 14-year-old at this point in the timeline, and that's pretty clearly a full-grown man with a backpack," wrote one. Another added: "Plus the braid (if it wasn't a backpack strap) was too long for that timeline. Some people said the length is not really an important detail, but I feel like it's sort of iconic in a way (it adds to the physical transformation we witness from the tracking lesson in the park, to her reintroduction at the stadium, and what became of it at the end)."

Now The Last of Us season 2 is on the horizon, fans are very keen to find out who will be playing the pivotal character in the show. Some of the names already in the mix from viewers for Abby are The Wilds' actor Shannon Berry and House of the Dragon’s Emma D’Arcy, but nothing official has been announced yet. What we do know is that Bella Ramsey will definitely not be recast as Ellie, despite the upcoming time jump. 

For more on the show, check out our The Last of Us ending explained, our breakdown of the changes from the video games, and what the finale taught us about Ellie’s Cordyceps immunity.