Let’s be honest, Hollywood has a pretty lousy track record when it comes to successfully adapting popular video game franchises, with lackluster films likeBorderlands, Max Payne,and, of course,the infamousSuper Mario Bros.severely disappointing audiences and passionate gamers everywhere. Though in recent years the silver screen has managed to get it right with hits includingSonic the HedgehogandThe Super Mario Bros. Movie, as well as TV treasures likeArcane,Fallout, and the epic survival series that was declared the best show of 2023:The Last of Us.
Featuring the talents of everyone’s favorite leading man, Pedro Pascal as well as Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Kaitlyn Dever, and Catherine O’Hara, the post-apocalyptic drama has sparked a global phenomenon and has been hailed as one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time, with the TV juggernaut winning eight Primetime Emmys and its explosive second season averaging 37 million viewers within just two months. Fans were left on a major cliffhanger at the end of its sophomore entry and are anxious to find out what’s in store for the third season; let’s take a look at what we know so far.
What Will ‘The Last of Us’ Season 3 Be About?
After the devastating events of Season 2, during which Pedro Pascal’sJoel was brutally beaten and murderedby the revenge-seeking Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) in retaliation for the death of her father, audiences watched with bated breath as Ellie (Bella Ramsey) set out to deliver her own bloodthirsty revenge against the WLF soldier. The season finale ended with a major cliffhanger as Ellie finally comes face-to-face with Abby after killing her allies, who ultimately pulls a gun on her before the screen shockingly goes black after a gunshot rings out.
Though specific details regardingThe Last of Usseason 3 are being kept tightly under wraps,fans can expect the next chapter of the smash-hit seriesto largely focus on Abby,as the final episode features her point of view after she wakes up at the W.L.F.’s Seattle headquarters three days before the showdown. Co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin hinted at the premise of the follow-up installment, saying that, “There is another side to this story that we have yet to really delve into” in regard to Abby’s backstorybefore further teasing:
“There’s no question that Abby is the hero of her story. Kaitlyn Dever is the hero of a story, always. If you have a Kaitlyn Dever, you use a Kaitlyn Dever. So I think where we go next, all I can say is it will always be centering somebody, whether it’s Ellie and Dina, or whether it’s Abby and Abby’s relationship with Owen or new relationships.”
When discussing Abby’s more prominent arc in the upcoming third season, fellow creator Neil Druckmann said, “There’s just an epic nature to it of what’s about to happen, but this other story’s going to be really important coming back to Joel and Ellie and everything that you’ve seen so far.” He also revealed that the season will answer unresolved questions regarding the origins of the WLF and the Seraphites and why they went to war. Ramsey confirmed that they will “most likely” have a smaller role in the new installment compared to previous seasons,telling Varietywhat little they knewof the third season:
“I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that. I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”
Who Will Be in the Cast of the New Season?
Following the jaw-dropping developments of the second season, fans can expect the upcoming installment to feature bothRamseyandDeverreprising their respective roles as well asIsabela Merced(Dina),Gabriel Luna(Tommy), andJeffrey Wright(Isaac Dixon), while introducing new characters. Though no official announcements have been made regarding returning cast members, it also seems likely that Rutina Wesley (Maria), Ariela Barer (Mel), and Spencer Lord (Owen) will be back in some capacity, since the Seraphites will be back to square off against their enemy, the WLF.
Passionate viewers are also curious whether Pascal will be able to somehow make a return for the third seasondespite his character dyingin the second, withMazin telling fans to “never say never” when it comes to seeing Joel on-screen again. Druckmann mirrored Mazin’s sentiments and hinted that Pascal could, in fact, come back for flashbacks, thrilling audiences when he said on “HBO’s The Last of Us” podcast:
“This is where the story starts in earnest. But I will say that we do know there are some mysteries here, some gaps, in Ellie and Joel’s relationships. And I think this is a spoiler because we put a trailer out there with lots of shots in it. This is not the last that we will see of Joel.”
The Creative Team Behind the Upcoming Season
In July 2025, news first broke thatThe Last of Usco-creator and co-showrunner Neil Druckmann (who also developed the popular video game franchise for Naughty Dog) would be exiting the Emmy-winning seriesahead of its third season. Druckmann said that, “now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects” before praising his time working on the fan-favorite series: “Co-creating [theLast of Us] show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct, and write on the last two seasons.”
Though Duckmann will no longer be a part of the show’s creative team, he will remain an executive producer alongside his frequent collaborator Craig Mazin, who will stay on as its showrunner and will continue to be a writer as well as Halley Gross. The post-apocalyptic drama has won countless accolades, including eight Primetime Emmys, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe nominations, and each season has garnered universal acclaim, with each installment receiving a 96% and 91% Rotten Tomatoes score, respectively.
When Can Fans Expect ‘The Last of Us’ Season 3 To Be Released?
Though an official release date for the third season ofThe Last of Ushas yet to be disclosed, HBO content CEO Casey Bloys announced to fans that they are in for a bit of a wait when it comes to the highly anticipated new installment. Bloysconfirmed to Varietythatthe third season will premiere in 2027before teasing what the network and creators had in store forthe future of the video game franchise:“Craig is still working it out whether it will be two more seasons or one more long season. It hasn’t been decided yet, and I’m following Craig’s lead on that.”
