Three more actors have been confirmed for the third season of HBO's The Last of Us television adaptation. John Goodman, Laura Bailey and Ian Alexander will all appear in the season, which is set to air in 2027, according to a Deadline report relayed by Video Games Chronicle.
Goodman's screen credits include The Big Lebowski, Argo and Roseanne. Bailey and Alexander arrive with a more direct connection to the source material: Bailey voiced Abby in The Last of Us Part II, and Alexander voiced Lev in the same game.
Neither will reprise those parts on television. Kaitlyn Dever and Kyriana Kratter played Abby and Lev in the show's second season, so Bailey and Alexander have been cast as different characters instead.
Bailey will play Elizabeth, described as one of the leaders of the Seraphites. The character was referenced in The Last of Us Part II but never appeared on screen in the game.
Alexander and Goodman will play Paco and Joey, a pair described as "Heroes of the Highway". Both appear to be new characters who did not feature in the games.
A pattern of recasting the games' voice actors
The third season is not the first time the show has given a member of the games' cast a different part. Ashley Johnson, who voiced Ellie in the games, played Ellie's mother in the series. Troy Baker, who voiced Joel, appears instead as James, the right-hand man of the antagonist David.
Goodman, Bailey and Alexander join a group of season three newcomers announced earlier: Li Jun Li, Peter Sarsgaard, Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson, Michelle Mao, Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg.
Bailey and the reaction to Abby
Bailey said in 2022 that she still had love for The Last of Us and would "definitely" return to the role of Abby if asked.
Abby was among the more heavily debated characters in The Last of Us Part II, in part because players were required to control her during sections of the game, and in part because of her character design. The character's heavily muscular build drew criticism from some players and prompted debate about body diversity in games. Bailey received abusive and threatening messages over the portrayal, some of which she shared online.
