“And Season 3 is going to be starring...”: Co-creator Neil Druckmann reveals the lead for The Last of Us Season 3

This week, several aspects about The Last of Us Season 3 were confirmed by people involved in the HBO series. The HBO show held its FYC (For Your Consideration) panel on Monday, June 9, 2025. There, it was confirmed that the upcoming season will switch the protagonist from Ellie to Abby, played by actress Kaitlyn Dever.

This switch was hinted at in the season 2 finale. Co-creator Neil Druckmann, who also created The Last of Us games, discussed the creative freedom he and Craig Mazin enjoy because the series is part of HBO. It is here that Druckmann confirmed Abby as the main protagonist of The Last of Us Season 3:

“I can’t believe that they let us structure the series in this way, meaning like, we just ended Season 2, and Season 3 is going to be starring — spoiler alert — Kaitlyn.”

What does the switch in protagonist mean for The Last of Us Season 3?

The switch in the protagonists was set up in the closing minutes of The Last of Us Season 2 finale. After Abby has broken into Ellie, Jesse, Tommy, and Dina's hideout. After killing Jesse, she points her gun at Ellie and pulls the trigger, but we don't see the result of the shot as the screen goes black.

After that, we see a perspective shift as Abby is the focus. Then, it is revealed that this scene is taking place three days before Abby breaks into Ellie's hideout. Meaning, The Last of Us Season 3 could be unfolding over three days, but this time from Abby's perspective. Thus, Ellie's rule in the third season might be minimal, or probably even only in the closing minutes of the season 3 finale.

It was known that The Last of Us Season 3 will feature little Ellie:

Craig Mazin, who is the co-creator of the series, in a May 23, 2025, press conference, revealed that he had no idea how little screentime Jesse, Ellie, Tommy, and Dina would have in the third Season:

“Even if I thought I knew now exactly how it was going to go, I’m experienced enough to know that two weeks from now we may have a different idea of how it should go. All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey, and we haven’t seen the last of Isabela Merced, and we haven’t seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.”

Bella Ramsey, the actor who plays Ellie in the HBO show, confirmed their (Ramsey is non-binary) little involvement in The Last of Us Season 3:

“I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that,” Ramsey said. “I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”

Furthermore, in the same press conference, the showrunners confirmed that The Last of Us Season 3 will also delve into the backstories of the Seraphites and WLF (Washington Liberation Front), and the events that drove a wedge between the two factions.

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As of now, the details of season 3 are sparse, and filming for it hasn't begun yet.

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