Published Jun 13, 2026, 12:07 PM EDT
Ben Sherlock is a Tomatometer-approved film and TV critic who runs the massively underrated YouTube channel I Got Touched at the Cinema. Before working at Screen Rant, Ben wrote for Game Rant, Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop. He’s also an indie filmmaker, a standup comedian, and an alumnus of the School of Rock.
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Craig Mazin and his cast and crew are currently hard at work on The Last of Us season 3. The production is taking a little hiatus — because it films in Vancouver, one of the host cities of the World Cup — but in the meantime, we’ve gotten a little more casting news, and it’s a doozy. Peter Sarsgaard has officially joined The Last of Us for its third season, reportedly playing a leader of the Seraphites named Amon. While there are Seraphite leaders featured in the game, this is an original character created specifically for the show, and it’s not the first time Mazin has created a brand-new villain for the TV adaptation.
Melanie Lynskey’s villain from season 1, Kathleen, was an original creation for the TV show. Season 2 introduced a couple of new characters, too, like the jaded Wolf played by Alanna Ubach and the sadistic FEDRA soldier played by Josh Peck. Season 3 seems to be continuing this tradition with one of its most exciting castings yet.
Sarsgaard is one of the best and most underrated actors out there. He’s not necessarily a star, but he’s one of the most reliable actors in Hollywood. Even when he’s in a movie or TV show that isn’t that great, like the recent misfire The Bride!, he’s usually one of the only good things in it. He never hits a false note, he always disappears into the character, and he always makes interesting choices.
Right now, it’s unclear if The Last of Us season 3 will turn out to be another crushing disappointment like season 2, or a pleasant surprise like season 1. But however the season itself turns out, you can count on Sarsgaard to turn in a great performance (just like you could count on Sarsgaard’s The Batman co-star Jeffrey Wright to turn in a great performance in season 2).
When The Last of Us comes back for season 3, it’ll be a totally different show. The season 2 finale confirmed that the TV show is borrowing the radical nonlinear narrative structure of The Last of Us Part II, following three days in Seattle from Ellie’s perspective and then showing the same three days from Abby’s perspective. In season 3, Bella Ramsey will take a backseat and Kaitlyn Dever will take over as the series lead.
Season 2 dedicated a lot more screen time than the game to Isaac’s plotting of the W.L.F. attack on the Seraphites’ island. The casting of a recognizable B-lister like Sarsgaard suggests that season 3 will show the flipside: the Seraphite leadership that will be caught off-guard when the Wolves arrive at their shores.
The genius of the video game is that it forces the player to walk a mile in Joel’s killer’s shoes, which makes them empathize with someone they hate and see their side of things. It’ll be tough to replicate that in the TV show, because it can’t actively involve the audience in Abby’s story like the game did. The gameplay created an inherent personal connection to Abby that television simply can’t achieve.
But it’s not just walking a mile in Abby’s shoes that makes us empathize with her; while Ellie’s three-day crusade was all about revenge, Abby’s story is about redemption. Abby got her revenge and it didn’t solve anything, so she’s looking for a new purpose, and she finds that in two young Seraphites that she reluctantly takes under her wing. It’s the same way Joel achieved redemption: by becoming a protector to a young, innocent beacon of hope. Where Joel unofficially adopted Ellie as his daughter, Abby becomes a big sister to Lev and Yara. The Last of Us is about to tell a totally different story, but it’s a really beautiful story in its own right.
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