John Goodman, Ian Alexander, and Laura Bailey have joined the cast of the HBO series for its upcoming third season.

HBO has announced that John Goodman, Ian Alexander, and Laura Bailey will join the cast for the third season of The Last of Us. The casting news was shared on September 26, a date significant to the series' lore as the anniversary of the cordyceps outbreak. The upcoming season is scheduled to premiere in 2027.

New Character Roles

John Goodman and Ian Alexander have been cast as Joey and Paco, a pair who refer to themselves as the “Heroes of the Highway.” Laura Bailey will portray Elizabeth, one of the leaders of the Seraphites, a religious sect expected to play a major role in the new season’s plot.

Game and Series Connections

Both Alexander and Bailey previously provided voice work for the video game The Last of Us: Part II, voicing the characters Lev and Abby, respectively. In the live-action series, these roles are played by Kyriana Kratter and Kaitlyn Dever. The production has a history of casting actors from the video games, including Merle Dandridge and Jeffrey Wright, who reprised their game roles for the show.

Production Updates

Season 3 will be led by co-creator Craig Mazin as the sole showrunner following the departure of co-creator Neil Druckmann at the conclusion of the second season. The new cast members join a roster that includes Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson, Clea DuVall, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr., alongside returning stars such as Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, and Isabela Merced.