Isabela Merced may not be a household name (yet) but she’s been part of your favorite franchises over the last several years. After all she’s been Dora the Explorer, and has been in a Transformers movie. She’s about to debut as part of the Madame Web cast, which will be followed by her joining The Last of Us in Season 2 to play the role of Dina. For the latter role, she played the second game in the franchise, which the new season will be based on, and she blasted through it despite not owning a PlayStation 5.
CinemaBlend’s own Sean O’Connell got to speak with the cast of Madame Web, including Merced, who revealed that she played through The Last of Us Part Two in a weekend, which wouldn’t be that unusual for a serious gamer. But it’s a bit more surprising since she had to spend that weekend at a friend’s house to do so. Merced explained…
For the Last Of Us, I played the second game in one weekend. That’s why I don’t have a PS5 in my house, because I wouldn’t stop if I had one. So I had to go to my friend’s house.
The Last of Us Part Two is about a 20 to 30-hour game, so we’re talking some pretty long days to beat it in a weekend. Isabela Merced must have an understanding friend if they let her just take over their console for a weekend. I don't know a lot of people who would let me do that.
And it has to be said that The Last Of Us is a pretty harrowing pair of games. If you get caught up in the story and care about the characters, you’re going to have your emotions twisted around several times. Beating the game in a couple of days requires the physical stamina to sit and play for hours on end and it requires the emotional stamina to get through the brutal story.
At the same time that story, while potentially difficult, can also be incredibly engaging, making you not want to put the controller down. The game has a few twists and turns and it’s maybe understandable that Merced just wanted to see where it would all go.
Isabela Merced has been cast in Season 2 of The Last of Us in the role of Dina, a young woman who becomes a key friend and ally to Ellie. Not unlike Merced’s role in Madame Web, fans will be very interested in seeing this character brought to life on the screen. The relationship between Ellie and Dina means a lot to a lot of people. Merced is joined by Kaitlyn Dever who has been cast as Abbie, the "villain" of the second game, if you consider her to be such.
Isabela Moner's franchise credentials are only growing from here. Madame Web isn't her only tentpole movie on the 2024 movie release schedule. She's also set to be part of the cast of Alien: Romulus later this year.
