HBO announced Saturday that John Goodman, Ian Alexander and Laura Bailey have joined the cast of The Last of Us for its third season, with the timing of the news no accident: Sept. 26 marks the date the cordyceps outbreak begins in both the video games and the TV series.
Goodman, known for The Righteous Gemstones and Digger, will play Joey, one half of a duo who dub themselves the "Heroes of the Highway" alongside Paco, played by Alexander (Star Trek: Discovery). Bailey, familiar to fans of Critical Role, is set to portray Elizabeth, one of the leaders of a religious sect known as the Seraphites.
Both Alexander and Bailey bring history with the source material — each voiced characters in the video game The Last of Us: Part II. Alexander voiced Lev, while Bailey voiced Abby, the character now played on the HBO series by Kaitlyn Dever.
The trio joins a season three cast that already includes Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson, Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. Returning stars include Bella Ramsey, Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Wright, Ariella Barer, Tati Gabrielle and Spencer Lord.
Season three is scheduled to premiere in 2027; season two wrapped in May 2025. Craig Mazin will serve as the sole showrunner for the new season following the departure of co-creator Neil Druckmann, who also developed the original video game series for Naughty Dog, at the end of season two.
Goodman is represented by Gersh, Alexander by Curate and Bailey by CAA.
Photo: Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
