HBO announced three new castings for The Last of Us Season 3 on Saturday: John Goodman, Ian Alexander, and Laura Bailey, per Deadline.
Goodman plays Joey and Alexander plays Paco, a friendly duo who call themselves the “Heroes of the Highway.”
Bailey plays Elizabeth, one of the leaders of the Seraphites, the religious cult at war with the WLF militia in Seattle.
None of the three characters exist in the video games. All were created for the show.
The announcement dropped on September 26, which THR notes is the date the cordyceps outbreak kicks off the story in both the games and the series.
Goodman is the biggest name of the three. Alexander is trans and voiced the games’ trans character. Bailey voiced Abby, the character Season 3 is built around.
Ian Alexander Voiced Lev In The Last of Us Part II
Alexander, 25, voiced and motion-captured Lev in The Last of Us Part II.
Lev is the young trans Seraphite whose storyline became one of the flashpoints when the game was review-bombed in 2020.
Trans roles have been Alexander’s whole career. He broke in as Buck Vu on Netflix’s The OA, becoming the first openly trans Asian American actor on television.
He went on to play Gray Tal on Star Trek: Discovery, the first trans character in Star Trek history.
The show already has its Lev. Kyriana Kratter plays the character in Season 3, and Deadline previously reported Lev remains a 13-year-old trans boy in the series.
Instead, HBO cast Alexander as Paco, a brand-new character invented for the show. HBO has not said whether Paco is trans.
Laura Bailey Got Death Threats Over Abby
Bailey voiced Abby in Part II and took the worst of the 2020 backlash, posting screenshots of death threats she received, including ones that mentioned her newborn son.
Season 3 adapts the back half of Part II and centers on Abby, now played by Kaitlyn Dever.
Bailey joins that season in person as Elizabeth, a leader of the Seraphites, the cult Abby’s faction is fighting.
HBO has made a habit of finding roles for the games’ actors. Troy Baker, who voiced Joel, played James in Season 1. Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie, played Ellie’s mother.
Merle Dandridge and Jeffrey Wright reprised their game roles outright as Marlene and Isaac.
Season 3 Follows A 55 Percent Ratings Drop
The new castings land on a show with something to prove.
The Season 2 finale drew 3.7 million viewers, down 55 percent from the 8.2 million who watched the Season 1 finale, per The Wrap.
The season also adds Peter Sarsgaard as Amon, another Seraphite leader created for the show, Li Jun Li as a Seraphite named Miriam, Jason Ritter as a WLF soldier, Patrick Wilson as Abby’s father Jerry, and Michelle Mao as Lev’s sister Yara.
Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. are also in, with Lendeborg taking over the role of Manny from Danny Ramirez.
Craig Mazin is running Season 3 solo following co-creator Neil Druckmann’s exit after Season 2.
HBO boss Casey Bloys told Deadline he believes Mazin “has planned it as the final season.”
The Last of Us Season 3 premieres on HBO in 2027.
