'The Last Of Us' ropes in 'The Batman' star in brand-new Season 3 role created for the show
'The Last of Us' Season 3 has added a high-profile film star to its growing cast. On June 11, Deadline exclusively reported that Peter Sarsgaard will play a key role in the show's third installment, set to arrive on HBO in 2027. Sarsgaard will join the recently added cast members, Kyriana Kratter and Michelle Mao, who are set to play Seraphite members Lev and his sister Yara, respectively. Season 3 will shift the narrative to focus on Kaitlyn Dever's character, Abby, who appeared briefly in Season 2 but served as the catalyst for the season's biggest plot twist. Craig Mazin will serve as the lone showrunner of Season 3, after his partner Neil Druckmann exited the project.
The 55-year-old actor has signed on to play a recurring character, Amon, one of the leaders of the extremist group the Seraphites. But unlike other characters in the series, Amon is an entirely original character and is not part of the video game series on which the HBO drama is based. The next season of the post-apocalyptic series will adapt the second half of the video game 'The Last of Us Part II' as Season 2 was based on the first half of the video game. In the show's forthcoming chapter, the revenge drama between Abby and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) will take center stage since the former was responsible for killing Ellie's father figure, Joel (Pedro Pascal). As a soldier in the Washington Liberation Front (WLF), Abby will likely encounter the Seraphites and their leader, as the two groups engage in a bitter conflict over control of Seattle. The Seraphites, a religious cult, briefly appeared in Season 2, but their lore will be explored in detail in the show's next chapter.
Sarsgaard made his film debut in 1995's 'Dead Man Walking' and went on to star in Oscar-nominated films such as 'The Batman,' 'An Education,' 'Blue Jasmine,' and 'The Lost Daughter.' His television credits include Netflix's 'The Killing,' Hulu's 'Dopesick,' and Apple TV+'s 'Presumed Innocent,' where he acted alongside his real-life brother-in-law, Jake Gyllenhaal. He earned Primetime Emmy Award nominations for his performances in 'Dopesick' and 'Presumed Innocent.' He was recently seen in a guest-starring role in HBO's dark comedy, 'DTF St. Louis.' Furthermore, Sarsgaard previously worked with Dever in 2021's acclaimed miniseries 'Dopesick', which centered around the opioid crisis.
The casting news comes just a few days after 'The Last Of Us' Season 3 was revealed to be on a production hiatus. The third season began filming in British Columbia in March and is currently taking a four-week break, as its Vancouver schedule coincides with the FIFA World Cup. The city is hosting several matches in June, which will inevitably disrupt day-to-day operations, including production work. Filming will resume on June 28, as per British Columbia's production directory, and is set to conclude in November.
