John Goodman, Laura Bailey, and Ian Alexander are joining the Season 3 cast of HBO’s The Last of Us,
which is scheduled to premiere in 2027. The casting additions bring back familiar video game voice talent alongside a high-profile television veteran for the post-apocalyptic drama’s upcoming season.
HBO announced the new additions on September 26, a date known in the franchise’s lore as the anniversary of the cordyceps outbreak that devastated humanity. With production well underway for the third season, the series continues its pattern of bridging the original games and the live-action adaptation by bringing back prominent performers while introducing brand-new characters.
New Characters and Returning Game Alums in Season 3
The upcoming season introduces a fresh dynamic with the casting of John Goodman as Joey, a character who did not appear in the original video games. Goodman’s character is partnered with Paco, played by franchise veteran Ian Alexander. The two characters form a friendly duo who call themselves the Heroes of the Highway.
Alexander previously portrayed Lev in The Last of Us Part II video game. Because Alexander has aged out of the role, Kyriana Kratter will play the live-action version of Lev in Season 3, while Alexander takes on his new role as Paco.
Laura Bailey, who famously voiced the character Abby Anderson in The Last of Us: Part II video game, is also joining the show’s live-action cast. Bailey will portray Elizabeth, identified as one of the leaders of the Seraphites, the brutal religious sect introduced during the second season. In the live-action adaptation, Abby is played by Kaitlyn Dever.
How Season 3 Fits the Casting Tradition
The inclusion of Alexander and Bailey follows a deliberate trend established in earlier seasons, where the creative team brought actors from Naughty Dog’s game franchise into the live-action adaptation. In the first season, Ashley Johnson voiced Ellie in the video games before appearing in the television series as Ellie’s mother in a harrowing birth scene.
These casting choices add layers of familiarity for longtime fans even as the narrative departs from the exact structure of the source material. With co-creator Neil Druckmann having departed the project after the conclusion of Season 2, Craig Mazin serves as the sole showrunner for Season 3, writing and executive producing the upcoming episodes.
Production Timeline and the Question of a Final Season
Season 2 concluded its broadcast run in May 2025, leaving viewers on a massive cliffhanger following the death of Pedro Pascal’s character, Joel, in the finale. While Pascal’s physical return for Season 3 remains uncertain outside of potential flashbacks, the story is expected to shift its primary focus to Dever’s Abby and her arc involving the Washington Liberation Front and the Seraphites.
Whether Season 3 will officially conclude the television adaptation remains a subject of discussion among network leadership. Speaking with Deadline following an Emmy sweep earlier in the month, Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, declined to definitively confirm the upcoming episodes as the final chapter, though he noted that he believes Mazin has planned it that way.
Mazin has planned it as the final season.
Casey Bloys, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content, via Deadline
The expanded ensemble for Season 3 also features newly announced actors including Peter Sarsgaard as Seraphite leader Amon, Li Jun Li as Miriam, Jason Ritter as WLF soldier Hanley, Patrick Wilson as Jerry, and Michelle Mao, Clea DuVall, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr., with Lendeborg taking over the role of Manny from Danny Ramirez due to scheduling conflicts. Production continues ahead of the scheduled 2027 premiere on HBO.