Season-two may have put a golf club through Joel’s skull, but HBO’s next swing is even gutsier: Abby Anderson—yep, the Joel-killer herself—will headline The Last of Us season 3. Series co-creator Neil Druckmann dropped the bomb during an Emmys FYC panel, praising HBO for leaning into “those controversial decisions” instead of sending his pitch to a nice farm upstate.
Why Abby muscles her way to center stage
- In the game’s Part II, players abruptly swap Ellie’s revenge campaign for Abby’s equally messy side of the story, a move that still divides group chats years later.
- Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby is canonically the daughter of the Firefly surgeon Joel ventilated back in season 1; her Seattle-set payback tour makes her the logical focus once Ellie’s bloodlust cliff-hanger fades to black.
- Druckmann admits he “couldn’t believe” HBO okayed the structure—apparently somebody at the network remembered the game already sold 10 million copies.
HBO’s surprisingly friendly stance on fan meltdowns
- Druckmann says the premium cable giant “leaned into what makes the story special,” handing over both time and creative freedom instead of bland studio notes.
- Translation: expect more ruptured skulls, moral whiplash, and Twitter stills of smashed controllers.
- The showrunners call season 3 “more of a water season than a fire season.” Whatever that elemental horoscope means, brace for rain-soaked trauma in Seattle.
What about Ellie, Joel loyalists, and Pedro Pascal stans?
- Bella Ramsey’s Ellie isn’t disappearing—she’s just ceding most of the real estate to her new nemesis.
- Pascal diehards will need to make do with flashbacks (or, you know, seven other shows he’s headlining this decade).
- The rotating-protagonist approach keeps each installment feeling like its own mini-series instead of a shambling zombie. HBO seems confident viewers can handle the swap—angry TikToks notwithstanding.
Will season 3 wrap the story or is a season 4 lurking?
- Season 2 gobbled the first half of Part II’s narrative; Abby’s arc could finish the game’s remaining hours.
- Druckmann and co-showrunner Craig Mazin are coy about a finale date, but they’ve hinted the franchise won’t overstay its welcome—unless HBO’s accountants overrule the clickers.
- With scripts still unwritten, a 2027 premiere feels realistic. That means plenty of time to stock up on tissues, protein bars, and online patience.
The takeaway
HBO’s prestige-fungus hit isn’t just repeating itself; it’s handing the steering wheel to the character who brained its beloved lead. It’s a gamble baked into the source material, and, if Druckmann is right, that’s exactly why it works. Abby’s coming for center stage—whether fans are ready or not.
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