The Bride! actor Peter Sarsgaard is the latest to join the cast of “The Last of Us” Season 3, Deadline reports.
What’s interesting is that Sarsgaard will play a new, original character not featured in the Naughty Dog video game on which the series is based: Amon, one of the leaders of The Seraphites.
The casting news arrives as production on season three takes a pause for what’s expected to be a month, as the FIFA World Cup takes over Vancouver as one of its host cities. Once filming resumes, production is expected to continue through the year in preparation for the planned premiere in 2027.
Season 2 picked up five years after the events of the first season, which centered on a hardened survivor smuggling humanity’s last hope out of an oppressive quarantine zone, two decades after modern civilization was decimated. Plot details for season three haven’t been revealed yet, other than that it will shift to Abby’s perspective and factor the Seraphites heavily.
Kaitlyn Dever stars as Abby, who will be the centerpiece of the upcoming season, alongside Bella Ramsey as Ellie. Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, and Jeffrey Wright also star.
Season 2 cast members Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, and Spencer Lord have been promoted to series regulars. Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring), Jason Ritter (Freddy vs. Jason), Clea DuVall (The Faculty), Li Jun Li (Sinners), and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Bumblebee) will also appear in Season 3.
HBO renewed “The Last of Us” for a third season ahead of its Season 2 premiere, but it’s expected to be the final chapter of the post-apocalyptic drama series.
The Last of Us video game co-creator Neil Druckmann stepped down as co-showrunner last year, leaving Craig Mazin (“Chernobyl”) as the sole showrunner for Season 3.