‘The Last of Us’ Season 3 casts John Goodman alongside two major video game stars
John Goodman is joining ‘The Last of Us’ for Season 3, and he will not be the only new cast member with a connection to the franchise. Goodman will play Joey, one half of a pair who call themselves the “Heroes of the Highway.” Two actors from ‘The Last of Us Part II’ have also been cast, though neither will reprise their game role. The additions arrive as the show prepares to tell more of Abby’s story.
Those actors are Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander. Bailey played Abby in the 2020 game, while Alexander played Lev, a Seraphite teenager who becomes central to Abby’s journey. On television, Kaitlyn Dever plays Abby, and Kyriana Kratter has been cast as Lev. Alexander will instead play Paco, Joey’s companion in the “Heroes of the Highway” duo. The characters are described as friendly, but HBO has not disclosed how they will enter the story.
Bailey has a separate role as Elizabeth, one of the leaders of the Seraphites. The religious group is at war with the Washington Liberation Front, also known as the W.L.F., in Seattle. Peter Sarsgaard will play another Seraphite leader, Amon. Clea DuVall has also joined the cast as a member of the group, although her character’s identity has not been announced. Elizabeth’s position places Bailey in a part of the story connected to Abby’s next chapter.
This will be Bailey’s second appearance in HBO’s adaptation. She briefly appeared as a masked nurse in the Season 1 finale, during Joel’s attempt to save Ellie from surgery. Other game performers have crossed into the series in different ways: Ashley Johnson, the original Ellie, played Ellie’s mother, while Merle Dandridge and Jeffrey Wright reprised their game characters, Marlene and Isaac. Bailey and Alexander will now return to the franchise in new roles.
Season 2 ended by moving the story back to the start of Abby’s time in Seattle, setting up a shift from Ellie’s perspective to Abby’s. Patrick Wilson is joining as Abby’s father, Jerry Anderson, while Michelle Mao will play Lev’s sister, Yara. Craig Mazin is overseeing Season 3 as sole showrunner following Neil Druckmann’s departure from that role. Production is underway, and HBO plans to bring ‘The Last of Us’ back in 2027. An exact premiere date has not been announced.
