The Last of Us Season 3 Casts John Goodman, Game Stars

HBO used The Last of Us Day - September 26, the in-universe date the cordyceps outbreak begins - to expand the cast of The Last of Us Season 3, adding Emmy winner John Goodman and two stars from the games, Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander, in brand-new roles. Variety first reported the casting, with Empire and Deadline carrying the details of the announcement.

Goodman and Alexander will play Joey and Paco, a friendly original duo who call themselves the "Heroes of the Highway." Bailey will play Elizabeth, a leader of the fanatical religious sect known as the Seraphites. The announcement continues the show's tradition of finding new parts for its game talent: Bailey voiced Abby in The Last of Us Part II, and Alexander voiced Lev - but in the series, those roles belong to Kaitlyn Dever and Kyriana Kratter.

The Last of Us Season 3: new roles for the games' biggest voices

According to Variety's reporting, neither Bailey nor Alexander will reprise the parts they originated. Alexander's recasting follows a simple logic: the actor has aged out of playing Lev, who is about 13 in the story, so the live-action Lev will be played by Kyriana Kratter. Bailey's Abby, meanwhile, has been played by Kaitlyn Dever since the start of Season 2.

Bailey is no stranger to the HBO show. She already made a small cameo in the Season 1 finale as one of the nurses preparing to operate on Ellie. The series has made a habit of this: Ashley Johnson, Ellie's voice in the games, played Ellie's mother Anna, and Troy Baker, Joel's voice in the games, played James in Season 1.

Elizabeth may be the most intriguing of the three new parts. In The Last of Us Part II, Elizabeth does not appear on screen - the game only references her in the past tense. Casting a heavyweight like Bailey in the role suggests the show intends to explore the Seraphites' history and their war for Seattle in greater depth than the games did.

The Last of Us Season 3: what is known so far

The third season is expected to premiere in 2027, and it is widely expected to be the show's last. HBO and Max content chief Casey Bloys would not confirm it outright, but said he believes showrunner Craig Mazin "has planned it as the final season." The season will reportedly put Dever's Abby at the center of the story, picking up the events of Season 2 from her perspective.

Mazin is now the sole showrunner after co-creator Neil Druckmann stepped away from the series. Druckmann is focusing on Naughty Dog's new PS5 game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Empire notes that Naughty Dog itself will have no involvement in Season 3 - a striking development for an adaptation of its own franchise.

Goodman, Bailey and Alexander join a growing list of Season 3 additions that already includes Clea Duvall, Patrick Wilson, Jason Ritter, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Michelle Mao and Kyriana Kratter, alongside returning stars Bella Ramsey, Isabella Merced, Gabriel Luna and Jeffrey Wright. Notably, the late Catherine O'Hara - who played Jackson's therapist Gail - was meant to return but will be absent, and it is unclear how the show will account for her character.

The Last of Us Season 3: the game side stays quiet

While the TV show stacked its cast, the game side of the franchise stayed quiet. Naughty Dog split its Last of Us Day plans across two dates: on September 26 it teased "a partnership announcement, a very cool collaboration, digital surprises, and more," and on Monday, September 28 it is hosting a No Return charity stream on Twitch, according to Push Square.

For a series whose last fresh release arrived in 2024, the quiet says plenty. Fans hoping for a new PS5 announcement got casting news and digital trinkets instead - but given that Druckmann has stepped back from the show to finish Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, the studio's silence may simply mean its energy is elsewhere.

Why The Last of Us Season 3 matters for fans

Season 2 arrived to a cooler reception than Season 1, so Season 3 has something to prove - and the casting choices show Mazin leaning into the adaptation's boldest instinct: remixing the source material. Handing Laura Bailey, the voice of Abby, a Seraphite leadership role is a deliberate thematic flip, since Abby was the Seraphites' primary adversary in the game.

The result is a finale season that could genuinely surprise even players who know the story's beats by heart. With a 2027 premiere on the horizon, the coming year will likely bring set photos, trailers and more casting - but for now, the message from HBO is clear: the endgame has begun, and it is bringing the games' biggest voices with it.

Source: Empire, September 2026; Push Square, September 2026

More on GenZ NewZ Tech & Games, including Momentic's new AI agent for scriptless software testing.