The actor who portrays Lev in The Last of Us Part 2 believes that his character has a bright future. The Last of Us Part 2 recently celebrated its first anniversary, but even 12 months after its release, it is still the topic of wide discussions across the gaming community. When The Last of Us Part 2 released, it immediately became one of the most prolific games on the market. However, while the gameplay itself was lauded, boasting numerous advancements on the previous game and improved accessibility options, its narrative was the topic of volatile debates across the internet.
The scene that sees secondary protagonist Abby Anderson murder Joel Miller was one that caused outrage among many fans. But while the character of Abby was divisive due to her actions at the start of The Last of Us Part 2, her overall arc is one that is loaded with emotion, culminating in one of the most harrowing but poignant scenes yet to be witnessed in a videogame. A large part of her character’s redemption story is routed firmly in her relationship with Lev, a transgender former Seraphite who joins with Abby after fleeing from his own home to escape the religious cult.
Now, in an interview with Wired (via PlayStationLifestyle), Lev’s actor has revealed what made the relationship between his character and Abby so important in The Last of Us Part 2, and what he believes is in Lev’s future. Actor Ian Alexander drew many parallels between Lev’s story and his own, including his upbringing in a religious environment, and the rejection he faced after coming out as transgender as a teenager. This is where Alexander praises the dialogue in The Last of Us Part 2. During his interview, Alexander drew attention to the scene where Abby and Lev first discuss Lev’s identity. Following a fight with the Seraphites wherein the cult uses Lev’s deadname, the character asks Abby if she wants to know why they used that name. Instead, Abby asks Lev if he wants her to know. This simple gesture gave the control of the situation back to Lev. As Alexander says:
“I felt like it was really important, not only for myself as a trans person to see that scene but also for cis allies to see that scene and realize this is the way that a discussion surrounding someone’s gender should be. It should always be their decision. They make the first move. They have agency over talking about it, because it is something that’s really deeply personal and can be very triggering to talk about.”
Meanwhile, Alexander also revealed what he believes to be in Lev’s future, following on from the events of The Last of Us Part 2. When discussing if Lev could ever make a showing in any other installments in The Last of Us series, Alexander revealed that he thinks that Lev “will find a lot of that chosen family, in a way that can help him heal from that wound of losing Yara in such a traumatic way and losing his mother in such a traumatic way and his whole community from childhood. I think Lev has a very bright future.”
It has been revealed that Neil Druckmann and Haley Gross already have an outline in mind for The Last of Us Part 3, and that Lev featured in some of their brainstorms for the franchise’s future. However, despite the ideas being there, the next game in the series is not yet announced to be in production.
That being said, Neil Druckmann has teased fans that Naughty Dog is currently working on its “next set” of games. Just what they are and if they include Lev, however, remains to be seen. Hopefully it won’t be too long until players find out if Lev’s future is as bright as his actor hopes.
The Last of Us Part 2 is available now for the PS4.
