Who Is Isaac, Jeffrey Wright’s Character in ‘The Last of Us’?

Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for The Last of Us: Part II video game.

The big picture

• Jeffrey Wright has joined
  The last of us
  Season 2, reprising his role as Isaac, the ruthless leader of the WLF who controls Seattle.
• Isaac has a dark past as a Marine soldier, known for public executions and brutal dominance.
• Wright's paper may include unused content from
  The Last of Us: Part II
  as the series diverges from the game structure.

with The last of usSeason 2 currently in production, was recently announced Jeffrey Wright had been issued as Isaac, marking the second time an actor from the hit game franchise has reprized his role in the HBO television series. Wright has become a household name thanks to projects like Westworld i Casino Royalebut recently received more attention for his role as Jim Gordon in The Batman and starred in the Oscar nominee American fiction last year.

The first season of The last of uslargely adapted from the Naughty Dog video game, it follows Joel (Peter Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) journey through America full of zombies. In The Last of Us: Part II game, players also inhabit the character of Abby (who will be played by Kaitlyn Dever), a young woman who has unfinished business with Joel after the events of the first game (and the first season). Abby also reports directly to Wright's Isaac, and while the character doesn't get much screen time overall, his presence is greatly appreciated during the second half of Part II.

Wright's casting also raises an important question about how Season 2 will be structured. While The last of us co-creators Neil Druckmann i Craig Mazin they have already confirmed it Part II's plot will be divided into more than one season, Part II it also uses a non-linear narrative to tell opposing sides of the same story, and Isaac doesn't appear until the second half of the game. This recent casting news suggests so theHBO series may diverge from game structure — but who is Isaac, really, and why is he so important to him The last of us?

How is the WLF connected to Isaac in 'The Last of Us'?

Isaac is the commander of the Washington Liberation Frontone of the two main factions a The last of us:Part II. The WLF (often nicknamed “Wolves”) is an organized military group that controls Seattle, where most of Season 2 takes place. Isaac was one of the founding members of the WLF, which began as a rebel group in protest against PHEDRA (the Federal Disaster Response Agency). Similar to Kathleen's (Melanie Lynskey), who overthrew FEDRA in Season 1, the WLF grew tired of FEDRA's authoritarian control and abuse of power.

After a bloody rebellion, the WLF drove FEDRA out of Seattle, with Isaac one of the few surviving leaders. The Wolves then assumed FEDRA's responsibilities, securing supply lines throughout the city and protecting the community. As the threat of infection grew, Isaac opted to relocate his fans to SoundView Sstadium, the global equivalent of Seattle's CenturyLink Stadium. Under Isaac's leadership, the WLF became a paramilitary organization and formed a civilized society, developing sustainable energy resources and providing security against the infected, as well as a functioning economy. On the surface, the WLF appeared to restore some semblance of humanity to post-apocalyptic America. Despite this, as time passed, Isaac's brutal nature began to show.

Isaac has a dark past in 'The Last of Us'

While Isaac's life before the apocalypse remains a mystery, he was a soldier in the US Marine Corps. This explains his aptitude for combat, leadership, discipline, and most importantly torture and interrogation. Once he became the leader of the WLF, Isaac successfully resettled the Wolves at SoundView Stadium, but many citizens refused to emigrate. Anyone who disobeyed Isaac's orders was subject to public execution, including families and children.

In Part II, players can discover the remains of Hillcrest, a small community that preferred independence from the WLF regime. In retaliation for their defiance, Isaac led an assault on the small town until the survivors fell in rank. As the WLF expanded its hold, Isaac sought total control over Seattle under the guise of forming a safe society for civilians. However, by the time the player meets Isaac in the game, he has already done so it turned the WLF into an even worse faction than PHEDRA.

'The Last of Us: Part II' presents the war between the Wolves and the Seraphs

The Last Of Us: Part II introduces Isaac to the player as he tortures a seraphic prisoner, setting up their main conflict. Isaac fights a losing battle against the Seraphim, which the player must navigate while exploring Seattle. The Seraphim are also known as “Scars”, earning their nickname from the self-imposed scars on their cheeks, and are members of a primitive extremist religious cult vying for control of Seattle. Isaac enforced a brutal regime against the Scars, carrying out public executions and transforming an entire hotel into a WLF station designed for torture and interrogation. Isaac has a history of negotiating peace, only to destroy it later and murder his captives.

After capturing the Seraph leader, the Prophet, he held her prisoner to stop a new conflict with the Scars. However, the Prophet gradually convinced more Wolves that their war was fruitless and destructive, undermining Isaac's authority. She then decided to execute the Prophet, which made her a martyr and led to a massive battle between the two factions that allowed the Scars to gain territory in the area. Isaac's failures in leadership speak to the general themes of The last of uswhich offers a commentary on the cycle of violence and revenge. It allows Abby to pursue her mission to track down Joel and seek revenge for her father's death, and represents the larger issue that Part II addresses: that violence and revenge are self-defeating and perpetuate a cycle that will only create more devastation.

How will Isaac appear The last of us Season 2 is still unclear. Given that Part II is split into several seasons, and Wright's character does not appear until the second half of the story, Isaac may appear in new scenes set before the events of Part II. The character originally had a more significant presence in the original story of the second game, but eventually his role was reduced, ie we could see some of them Part IIunused content of in the HBO adaptation. Since Season 2 may also abandon the game's non-linear narrative structure and tell events in chronological order, this would account for a larger Wright appearance.

It will be interesting to see how Wright's performance translates to television, and if there will be any significant changes to the original portrayal of the character in the games. The last of us Season 2 is currently in production, and is slated for release next year. Until then, fans can always return to the games to experience the WLF leader for themselves.

The last of us is available to stream on Max in the US

Look at MAX