THE LAST OF US casts more familiar names for Season Three…

There’s been some controversies regarding the HBO adaptation of best-selling PlayStation game The Last of Us. Even before the first season debuted, some felt that Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) was visually quite different than the game’s version of Ellie – the immune survivor of an infection that ravaged humanity. However, she’s proven herself a good actor and delivered on many of the key needs of the character. The show’s second season narrative also closely followed the divisive nature of the game. *SPOILERS*… the first game’s ‘hero’ Joel is murdered early on by a military soldier named Abby – retribution for Joel killing her father (the surgeon who would have operated on Ellie in a belief that she could have save dhumanity). The show’s version of those events was just as bloody as the game’s.

More recently, Naughty Dog (the game’s developers) said that unlike previous seasons, they were not closely involved in the third run of the show that is currently in production. It is believed that the third season may well be the last of The Last of Us, taking events, largely focusing on Abby, through to the end of the second game.

As The Last of Us Day dawns (26th September is the ‘outbreak’ day in the games and a date that is often used to make announcements about the game/show) we now have more casting news. Joining the previously announced incoming actors – such as Li Jun Li, Peter Sarsgaard, Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson, Michelle Mao, Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg – we now know that  John Goodman (The Conners), Ian Alexander (Star Trek: Discovery) and Laura Bailey (The Legend of Vox Machina) have joined the ensemble.

Goodman may be best known for his comedic roles, but has plenty of darker roles in his career. Ian Alexander is a non-binary actor and they were the voice and performance-capture actor involved in bringing Zev (an escapee from the cult-like Seraphites) who supported Abby in The Last of US: Part Two… but here he will play another character Paco, who teams up with Goodman’s ‘Joey’ to form what they call “Heroes of the Highway’. Bailey also has firm connections to many of Naughty Dog‘s games, providing the voices for many of their games’ key characters. In The Last of Us game she provided the voice of Abby herself. In the show she will essay Elizabeth, one of the leaders of the Seraphites. All these are roles that were either not in the game or not named. It is possible that ‘Elizabeth’ could be a variant of ‘The Prophet’, who was seen in murals and helped create and guide the Seraphites in an almost spiritual way.

There’s no set date for the third/last season of The Last of Us, but it is expected to appear in 2027…