It’s been a strange few months for fans of The Last Of Us. While the second series of HBO’s survival horror game adaptation launched — like the first — to critical acclaim last year, since then we’ve had confirmation that not only has the game’s creator and series co-writer/co-showrunner Neil Druckmann exited theshow, but also that Naughty Dog will have no involvement in the forthcoming Season 3 either. But as the games teach us, “When you’re lost in the darkness, look for the light,” and that light is coming via some exciting casting news courtesy of Variety.
Per the trade’s reporting, Craig Mazin’s The Last Of Us Season 3 has just cast John Goodman and OG The Last Of Us Part II voice actors Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander in some key roles. Goodman and Alexander, the latter of whom voiced Lev in TLOU Part II, are set to play Joey and Paco — aka “Heroes of the Highway” — in the latest instalment of HBO’s survival horror series, two original characters who have been created specifically for the show. Meanwhile, Laura Bailey — best known to fans as the original voice behind Abby (and, in a fun cameo, one of the operating theatre nurses in the Season 1 finale) — is on to play Elizabeth, one of the leaders of cult-like religious sect the Seraphites. The trio of new stars join previously announced Season 3 cast members Clea Duvall, Patrick Wilson, Jason Ritter, Jorge Lendeborg Jr., Michelle Mao, and Kyriana Kratter, along with returnees including Kaitlyn Dever, Bella Ramsey, Isabella Merced, Gabriel Luna, and Jeffrey Wright.
As players of The Last Of Us will recall, the second game undergoes a distinct tonal and narrative shift midway through, pretty much at the exact point where Mazin’s HBO show finished its second outing. It’ll be interesting then to see how The Last Of Us‘ third — and potentially final — season ultimately shakes out when it arrives on our screens sometime in 2027. Until then, we’ll just have to endure and survive the agonising wait for more emotional/terrifying adventures in the post-apocalypse.
