The Last of Us season 3: Release date speculation and latest news

On the announcement of season 3, Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO programming, head of HBO drama series and films, said in a statement: “It can’t be overemphasised how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us is.

“Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”

It's no secret that series creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have been forthright in their vision for The Last of Us to consist of four seasons, with Mazin also teasing to Collider that "there’s a decent chance that season 3 will be longer than season 2".

But just when can we expect season 3 to land on our screens and how will the story continue? Read on for everything we know about The Last of Us season 3 so far.

 

A release date for The Last of Us season 3 has not yet been confirmed.

But fans may have to continue to exercise some patience as we already know that there was quite the lengthy gap between seasons 1 and 2, with season 1 being released in January 2023 and season 2 following all the way in April 2025. Of course, season 2 was impacted by the writers and actors strikes, so the wait between season 2 and 3 could be shorter, but we'll just have to wait and see.

Series star Isabella Merced has already admitted in an interview with Variety that she doesn't know when production on season 3 is due to start, but thinks "it should be next year".

Therefore, if season 3 production were to kick off in 2026, we could potentially be looking at a release date of early 2027.

How many episodes will there be in The Last of Us season 3?

As of now, an episode count for season 3 has not yet been revealed. However, co-creator Craig Mazin has said that the third season will likely be longer in length than season 2.

Season 1 consisted of nine episodes and so fans were surprised with season 2's 7-episode run. Could we be going back up to 9 or even more? As of now, nothing else has been revealed, but Mazin did explain the thought process, telling Collider: "There are natural perforations in the narrative where you can go, “Okay, let’s tear it here.” I think there’s a decent chance that season 3 will be longer than season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different.

"The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story. I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for Season 3. I think we’ll have a little more room there.

"But certainly, 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."

The Last of Us season 3 cast: Who will return?

Seeing as the third season of The Last of Us has already been teased as being about Abby, we'd expect Kaitlyn Dever to take on a lead role in the upcoming instalment. Introduced in season 2 as Ellie's antagonist in the wake of Joel's tragic death, there's certainly plenty more of the story to flesh out from the original games.

It's not all that surprising that we're set to go on a narrative shift, seeing as The Last of Us II game does the same thing once you reach a certain point in Ellie's story. As for whether this will mean that Ellie won't be seen at all in season 3 remains to be confirmed.

It'd be a controversial move for the series to not only spotlight Joel's killer for an entire season but also to remove one of its series leads but hey, TV always keeps us guessing. Something tells us that won't be the case and that we will continue to see more of Ellie and Dina, just perhaps in a diminished role.

Of course, we won't be seeing anymore of Pedro Pascal's Joel and the same can be said of Tati Gabrielle's Nora, who Ellie killed in season 2 episode 6. Catherine O'Hara also confirmed that Mazin already told her she won't be in season 3 and of course, neither will Joe Pantoliano, who starred as her onscreen husband Eugene.

The cast we'd expect to return for The Last of Us season 3 are as follows:

• Bella Ramsey as Ellie
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby
• Isabela Merced as Dina
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy
• Young Mazino as Jesse
• Ariela Barer as Mel
• Spencer Lord as Owen
• Danny Ramirez as Manny
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
• Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan

What will The Last of Us season 3 be about?

In an interview with Variety, Catherine O'Hara confirmed that season 3 is "the Abby story" so we can anticipate a greater exploration of Abby's life and backstory. As for whether we'll continue to see how Ellie's story plays out alongside that, it remains to seen but we would assume the show will continue to explore Ellie's life in the wake of Joel's death and her relationship with Dina.

Mazin has already said that piecing together the story for season 3 feels much like a puzzle, telling Collider: "It’s never easy. We’re now confronting all the same challenges for Season 3. They’re fun challenges .... But all those decisions get made before I start writing.

"We have a master plan and we understand how everything works. That way, when you see things happening in this episode, you understand they’re connected back to the very first episode. It's a holistic thing."

As for the way that things end in season 2, it was all intentional to set up season 3, according to Mazin. He revealed: "Now, we’re actually in more of a traditional cliffhangery mode, where you’re telling a story, and then you end the season with something that says, 'Whoa, this is going to change a whole bunch of things, and we’ll see you when we get back and pick it up from there.'

"We ask ourselves a lot of questions and we think about what we ought to do when we think about what the narrative that exists affords us and that we should do. I’m always thinking about, what are the things that only The Last of Us does? Let’s do those as much as we can.

"And then, you go for it and you make your decisions and mostly just try as best as you can to think about the audience experience and how they’re going to feel when they arrive at the end of something. Hopefully, we set them up to want to return when we come back for the next run."

Mazin also teased that more "information will be coming" about the Washington Liberation Front (WLF) and the Seraphites, both of whom are introduced and seen throughout season 2 but do lack a bit of context. "No, you haven’t gotten all the information you deserve. Yes, the information will be coming. We did this all by design," Mazin says.

For fans of the game, they will already know that The Last of Us Part II follows both Ellie and Abby as Ellie continues on in her quest for revenge. But also, Abby gets drawn into conflict between between the WLF and the Seraphites, so it's safe to say that it certainly won't be the last we see of either group.

Is there a trailer for The Last of Us season 3?

Not yet! Seeing as production on season 3 hasn't yet kicked off, there's no trailer right now. Watch this space, though.