John Goodman Joins ‘The Last of Us’ Season 3

The cast of The Last of Us season three is expanding.

John Goodman, Ian Alexander and Laura Bailey have joined the HBO series based on the video game franchise. HBO made the announcement Saturday, as Sept. 26 is a key date in Last of Us lore: It’s when the cordyceps outbreak sets the events of both the video games and the TV series in motion.

Goodman (The Righteous Gemstones, Digger) and Alexander (Star Trek: Discovery) will play Joey and Paco, a “friendly duo” who call themselves the “Heroes of the Highway.” Bailey (Critical Role) is set to play Elizabeth, one of the leaders of a religious sect called the Seraphites.

The three actors join fellow Jason Ritter, Patrick Wilson, Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. in the season three cast along with returning stars Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, Jeffrey Wright, Ariella Barer, Tati Gabrielle and Spencer Lord.

Alexander and Bailey may be familiar to players of the video games, as both had voice roles in The Last of Us: Part II. Alexander voiced Lev and Bailey voiced Abby — played by Dever on HBO.

Season three of The Last of Us is due to premiere in 2027 (season two concluded in May 2025). Co-creator Craig Mazin is the sole showrunner for the coming season following the departure of co-creator Neil Druckmann — who also developed the video game series for Naughty Dog — at the end of season two.

Goodman is repped by Gersh. Alexander is repped by Curate. Bailey is repped by CAA.