This is a PSA for fans of The Last of Us: season-two star Kaitlyn Dever just gave us new details on what to expect from season three. Dever, who plays character Abby in the second season, just revealed that the next instalment will give us more insight into her character and could include a time jump to offer a different perspective on the cliffhanger that closed out the last episode.
Here are all the new details, plus everything else we know about season three of The Last of Us – including why some fans think this could be the last ever season of the show.
Who's new to the cast in season 3?
As of today, Deadline is reporting that actors Clea DuVall (who you might recognise from Natasha Lyonne's Poker Face) and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (from Spider-Man: No Way Home) have joined the cast of the upcoming third season.
DuVall is confirmed to be playing a seraphite, while Lendeborg will be portraying Manny, replacing Danny Ramirez, who played the recurring role in Season 2 but could not return for scheduling reasons.
The Last of Us season three takes a time jump to follow the season two story from Abby's perspective
These new details have emerged in an interview Kaitlyn Dever did with Deadline. Dever confirmed that while production has yet to start on the third instalment, that she is going to have a bigger role. Which means we'll be seeing a lot more of her character, Abby.
"I’m so excited to kind of take on a much bigger role in the season,” she said.
“The fans are really going to like it, I think, the shifting perspective onto Abby, getting some more context onto her storyline and going back in time with this season. So, I’m very excited for the fans to see it.”
Season two concluded with an epic cliffhanger featuring Abby and Ellie. After the tense scene, the perspective changes and "Seattle Day 1" appears as text on screen, it suggests a three-day time jump where we'll see a retelling of the events in Seattle but from Abby's perspective. Which would emulate what happens in the video game the show is based on.
No, HBO has not confirmed that this is the final season – but rumours suggest this is the end
The Last of Us was only off our screens for a couple months before we were confronted with a potential heartbreak.
Rumours are swirling that, despite The Last of Us being officially green lit for a third season – an announcement they made ahead of the anticipated premiere of Season 2 – its third season might be its final.
Of course, this makes sense for game lovers who know the plot arc, but we still held out hope for more screen time than this. HBO hasn't confirmed anything. And it is common for wildly successful shows to diverge from the source material (a la A Game of Thrones). So, while the video game arc suggests this could be it for The Last of Us, we are holding out hope that the show continues.
What will season three be about?
If rumours are true, season three will bring the journey of The Last Of Us to a penultimate close. The early renewal reflects the network’s confidence in the show's momentum, and in the storytelling vision of co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
Season 1 faithfully adapted the 2013 PlayStation game that started it all, but its follow-up, The Last of Us Part II, released in 2020, offers a far more sprawling narrative – one the creators always intended to explore over both seasons two and three.
“We’ve always known the second game would need more room to breathe,” said Mazin in an interview this week, hinting that the story’s scope could demand a total of three or even four seasons to fully play out. “It’s getting harder to make, because every episode gets big,” he noted. “You don’t want to wait four years for a 17-episode finish.”
When will season three be released?
If the gaps between seasons one and two are anything to go by, there could be a bit of a wait until we see The Last of Us season three on our screens. We're guessing at least a 2026 release date for this one, but we'll keep you updated here as we know more.
