The Last of Us season 3 release date speculation, cast, plot, and more news

The Last of Us season 3 is on its way to fill in the void left by season 2. That's right, the journey is far from over. The most recent season ended on a cliffhanger that centers on not Ellie nor Joel, but Kaitlyn Dever's new antagonist, Abby Anderson. This brings us to The Last of Us season 3 (and a potential season 4).

Season 2 sets out to adapt The Last of Us Part 2 video game, but barely makes a dent. We leave off at a crucial part in the game, before the main focus shifts to Abby and her life (and makes her a bit more sympathetic after doing you-know-what to you-know-who). The show has already been renewed for a third season, and we already have a pretty good idea what it's going to be about. Below, we've rounded up everything we know so far about The Last of Us season 3, including a potential release date, cast, plot, and some info about season 4. We also clear up some questions you might have about the game and the game's timeline (and why The Last of Us season 2 finale ends the way it does).

Before you continue on, we just have to warn you that there are spoilers for The Last of Us season 2 below, as well as spoilers for The Last of Us Part 2. Go back and get caught up on season 2 before you scroll down.

The Last of Us season 3 release date speculation

Because The Last of Us season 1 aired in 2023 and The Last of Us season 2 premiered in 2025, we can expect a similar two-year wait for season 3.

Co-showrunner and head writer Craig Mazin recently told GamesRadar+ that they have not yet begun writing season 3. Now that season 2 has ended, it's likely that work will begin fairly soon, and we'll have a better idea as time goes on. But for now, 2027 seems like a fair assumption.

The Last of Us season 3 plot *SPOILERS*

The Last of Us season 3 will continue to adapt The Last of Us Part 2, which follows Ellie as she sets out for revenge against Abby, who brutally murders Joel after it's revealed that the surgeon Joel killed at the end of season 1 was actually Abby's father. And not only that, he was also the only living doctor who was capable of making a cure for the Cordyceps virus. At the end of The Last of Us season 2, Ellie manages to kill all of Abby's friends before she and Abby have their first confrontation, which ends with Jesse's death. Abby then shoots Ellie before we cut to Abby waking up in The Stadium (WLF headquarters) with on-screen text that reads, "Seattle Day One."

Catherine O'Hara recently confirmed that season 3 will, in fact, center on Abby's story - which isn't a shock to anyone who has played Part 2. To explain, The Last of Us Part 2 is told from Ellie and Abby's points of view, with the player controlling both characters. The timeline in the game is then split in two: Ellie's perspective: Jackson, Seattle Day One, Seattle Day Two, Seattle Day Three; Abby's perspective: Seattle Day One, Seattle Day Two, Seattle Day Three; and The Farm/Santa Barbara.

The switch to Abby's perspective shows us what she was doing during those three days that Elie and Dina were hunting her down, and gives us some backstory that makes us reluctantly sympathetic for her and her reasons for killing Joel. Day Three takes us back to the The Last of Us season 2 finale, but from Abby's perspective - the player hunts Ellie down, rather than hide from Abby.

During The Farm part of the game, we see Ellie's life with Dina and their baby. Their peaceful life is interrupted when Tommy pops up and tells Ellie that he's tracked Abby's whereabouts to Santa Barbara - and that she should absolutely go and kill her (which does seem a little out of pocket for TV show Tommy). Ellie does leave for Santa Barbara, which is where Abby and Ellie's final showdown takes place. The game ends from Ellie's perspective.

That being said, we can speculate that The Last of Us season 3 will start with Abby's Seattle Day One, Two, and Three - and potentially end there. Because a season 4 has been planned (though not yet renewed), it's possible that the fourth season will center on The Farm and Santa Barbara, saving Abby and Ellie's final confrontation until then (especially with what O'Hara said about season 3 focusing mainly on Abby's story). It's worth noting that season 2 does change the narrative quite a bit, what with telling us within just the first few minutes of the season that Abby plans to kill Joel - rather than keep her reasoning something of a mystery until we play through her perspective.

Because of this, we can expect many more narrative changes as well as a crop of new characters. It's possible that showrunners and writers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann decided to save Lev and Yara, two members of Abby's crew who become essential to Ellie's story, for season 3 so as not to muddle or complicate the main plot.

The Last of Us season 3 cast

Though her friends are dead, season 3 will show us what Abby was doing in Seattle while Ellie and Dina were hunting her down. Because of this, Abby's crew will return - though we're not sure if Lev and Yara, two members of the WLF who become an important part of Ellie's life and story, will appear. Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced will no doubt return, as well as Jeffrey Wright's terrifying Isaac, who has more or less been made a larger antagonist in the show than he was in the game (and we're not complaining). We can also only speculate that deceased characters like Jesse and Joel will appear in flashbacks.

It's also worth noting that Catherine O'Hara said she "definitely" wouldn't be appearing in season 3, because of its central focus on Abby. We also most likely won't be heading back to Jackson in season 3, though Tommy and Maria do appear in The Farm portion of the game (which we may or may not see in season 3, but are much more likely to see in season 4).

Brand new characters created specifically for the show are also likely to appear (and the Seraphites will make a return, given that they are the main enemy of the WLF). Based on what we know so far, we've compiled a speculative cast list below.

Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (who created The Last of Us video game franchise) will return as showrunners and head writers, with a possible return from screenwriter Halley Gross.

• Bella Ramsey as Ellie
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby
• Pedro Pascal as Joel
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy
• Rutina Wesley as Maria
• Isabela Merced as Dina
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
• Spencer Lord as Owen
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora
• Danny Ramirez as Manny
• Ariela Barer as Mel
• Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan
• Ben Ahlers as Burton

Is there a The Last of Us season 3 trailer?

There is no trailer for The Last of Us season 3, as writing or filming has not yet begun. Because we can speculate that the season will air in 2027, we can most likely expect a trailer around then, if not in late 2026.

Is The Last of Us season 3 the final season?

As Mazin and Druckmann have said time and time again (including to GamesRadar+ directly), it looks like they plan to stretch The Last of Us Part 2 over at least two more seasons. After the official season 3 renewal, Mazin told Collider: "There’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome."

Season 3, adapting the same timeline as the video game, will focus on Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, and show us where she was when Ellie and Dina took off for Seattle, leading us back up to the events of the season 2 finale. However, if season 3 is once again only seven episodes, we can speculate that season 4 will give us the final showdown between Ellie and Abby that happens at the very end of the game.

The Last of Us seasons 1 and 2 are streaming now on HBO Max in the US, as well as Sky and NOW in the UK. For more, check out our The Last of Us season 2 review.