HBO’s prestige adaptation of Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us is wading into its third, and potentially final, season. Splitting the second game between seasons, how the show juggles the expanding and, uh, contrasting set of core characters will require more finesse than cross-media productions usually receive. In one promising development, two talents from the game have reportedly been added to the cast, alongside character actor godking John Goodman.
According to Deadline, John Goodman, who has lit up everything from The Righteous Gemstones to The Big Lebowski and The Flintstones, has been cast in the upcoming season of The Last of Us. Goodman will be playing an original character for the series, Joey, who is described as a “Hero of the Highway.” Joey is a part of a duo, alongside another new character named Paco, who happens to be played by The Oa’s Ian Alexander. As the crow flies, Alexander also voiced Lev in the video game series, some slight consolation given the character’s contentious live action casting.
Alexander isn’t the only returning voice actor booking a flight to Vancouver. Laura Bailey had a small cameo in the first season, but it appears she’s been cast with a much more significant role as radical Seraphites leader Elizabeth. While she never appeared on screen during The Last of Us Part II, Elizabeth is spoken about in past tense. It’s possible that the show will go more in-depth on the meddling religious sect’s origins, given their battle for Seattle and integral relationship to Lev.
Alexander and Bailey join other game cast transplants Troy Baker, Jeffrey Wright and Merle Dandridge, the latter two reprised the same role for live action. Goodman joins a quickly growing cast that through the summer added The Conjuring’s Patrick Wilson, Gravity Falls’ Jason Ritter and Spider-Noir’s Li Jun Li. The second season wasn’t quite as lauded as The Last of Us’ TV debut, and how the remaining episodes will juggle the dramatic and painful perspective changes is bound to cause some whiplash. It will be the first season without game director Neil Druckmann’s involvement, as he says he’s focusing his attention on the game side of things, like developing Intergalactic. Naughty Dog will have a Last of Us focused stream tomorrow, September 28th, which will likely divulge more about the third season and maybe even a game or two.
