With the return of The Last of Us comes the arrival of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a central character in Part II of the video game, as a soldier seeking vengeance.

But Dever’s history with The Last of Us goes back a decade, as she was initially eyed to play Ellie (the series’ lead character, played by Bella Ramsey) years ago when a film adaptation was being planned for the game.

“I didn’t even audition. It was only just like meetings I was having with [creator] Neil [Druckmann]. I was going to [Druckmann’s video game company] Naughty Dog and he was showing me how the game was created and definitely giving me spoilers for game II years before it came out; I had to carry a lot of weight, it’s been rough these last 10 years, I have to say,” Dever told The Hollywood Reporter at the show’s Los Angeles premiere on Monday.