The wait is almost over. Find out everything you need to know about The Last of Us season 2, including news about its early season 3 renewal.
Warning: This post contains spoilers about seasons 1 and 2 of HBO 's The Last of Us. Looking for updates on The Last of Us season 3? Then you've come to the right place. The show, which currently boasts the biggest debut season in HBO ’s history, wrapped its sophomore season in May 2025, and ever since then, viewers have been anticipating the continuation of the saga.
With an early renewal announced in April 2025, season 3 of The Last of Us is perhaps the most anticipated chapter, and HBO is making cast announcements ahead of production, including a Bridgerton season 4 alum. Below, we have combed the internet for every single clue and update on The Last of Us season 3—from casting news to release date updates and everything in between. Keep reading to learn everything we know so far about The Last of Us season 3. HBO announced that The Last of Us season 3 was a go on April 9, 2025, ahead of the season 2 premiere. “It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us is,' Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO Programming and head of HBO drama series and films, said of the early renewal. 'Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast, and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.” There's one key change for season 3: Neil Druckmann, who co-created the show with Craig Mazin and directed the original games, is stepping back. Druckmann serves as executive producer and co-showrunner for the first two seasons. He will be credited as co-creator and executive producer for season 3, but Mazin will be the only showrunner. At the time of writing, The Last of Us season 3 doesn't have a tentative release date. There is no news yet on the start of production. In January 2026, Kaitlyn Dever told Deadline that she was headed to begin “prep,” and some actors have also posted photos of their trailers, but HBO has not confirmed a start date. For reference, The Last of Us season 2 premiered on April 13, 2025. The sophomore season featured seven episodes, compared with season 1's nine. Production for the second season reportedly began in February 2024. Filming and casting for the long-anticipated season were affected by the Hollywood strikes, with the writers' room resuming as deals were reached. If season 3 follows a similar timeframe, it could likely premiere in 2027 or early 2028, depending on the exact start of production. The Last of Us season 1 was a pretty faithful adaptation of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game of the same name and its 2014 expansion, The Last of Us: Left Behind. The Last of Us season 2 then adapted part of The Last of Us Part II, the sequel game released in 2020, which notoriously features a five-year time jump. The Last of Us season 3 is also expected to adapt The Last of Us Part II from Abby's point of view, played by Dever. “Season three is going to be starring—spoiler alert—Kaitlyn,” Druckmann confirmed to THR. The finale of season 2 sets the base for what we will see in season 3. It ends with Abby confronting Ellie in Seattle. The scene fades to black. Then we see Abby, and “Seattle Day 1” appears on the screen, suggesting we will be going back in time. This matches the game's format, which also shifts to Abby's perspective. Dever told Deadline, “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.' The Last of Us season 3 will star Kaitlyn Dever as Abby and Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Other cast members reprising their roles will be Isabela Merced as Dina, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina's Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Ariela Barer as Mel, and Spencer Lord as Owen. New faces are also joining the cast. Starting with Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who will replace Danny Ramirez in playing Manny. Ramirez exited the show due to scheduling conflicts. Clea DuVall will also join the cast as a seraphite that Abby encounters on her journey. While Jason Ritter and Patrick Wilson are joining in recurring roles as Hanley, a WLF soldier, and Abby’s father, Jerry. Deadline also reported that 28-year-old Bridgerton alum Michelle Mao, who recently played Rosamund Li in season 4 of the hit Netflix show, will join the cast as seraphite apostate Yara. Mao joins the project as a series regular. 15-year-old Kyriana Kratter, known for her roles in Star Wars: Skeleton Crew and Bunk’d, has also joined the cast as Yara's brother, Lev, and her casting is raising some concerns. As Them notes, many consider that casting a cisgender actor to play Lev, a 13-year-old trans boy, is a missed opportunity, especially given how central Lev's arc is to the story. “Lev goes through immense suffering in the game, much of it directly tied to his trans identity,” Julie Muncy wrote for the Washington Post in 2020. Deadline reports that Lev serves as “the deuteragonist of Abby’s storyline” in the video game, “serving as her partner and moral compass.” Lev, as a character, will still be trans in the TV show. HBO reportedly held “an inclusive casting call for Lev.” As Them notes, Lev was voiced by trans actor Ian Alexander for the game. Alexander, now 24, previously expressed his desire to reprise the role of Lev in the show, much like Wright, who voiced Dixon in the video game The Last of Us Part II, was cast for the role in season two. Nothing has been said about those portraying characters who died in season two, most notably Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, but flashbacks are always an option in this world. Craig Mazin also confirmed that Catherine O'Hara, who played therapist Gail Lynden in season two, was expected to return for season three before she passed on January 30, 2026, at 71. “I don't think it's a spoiler to say that she was going to be in our show again, because of course she was, she is so good, but she was stolen from all of us,' Mazin said on the Scriptnotes podcast. At the time of writing, The Last of Us season 3 has not been fully filmed, so there's no trailer or first look yet. Stay tuned as we learn more. Long story short, it's hard to tell. HBO chairman and CEO Casey Bloys said that it “certainly seems” like season 3 will be the final one, but admitted that ultimately HBO “will defer to the showrunners,” who seem to have a different opinion. Speaking to British GQ in 2023, the showrunners teased that The Last of Us Part II would be adapted into multiple seasons, beginning with season 2. 'We will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct,' Craig Mazin said. Speaking to Deadline in 2024, Mazin added: “Our show as people know it on HBO is going to cover the material from the second game and then quite a bit of material that is relevant to that story but, as I said, wanders down interesting new paths, unseen stories that were told within the context of that game's material.” He also added that 'the story may require season 4.” This post will continue to be updated as news breaks about The Last of Us season 3.
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