The Last of Us season 3: EP talks Kaitlyn Dever as lead

At the end of The Last of Us season 2, we had a good feeling that the show was going to shift the focus over to Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. Now, the folks behind the scenes have confirmed that further.

While at a FYC event for the second season of the hit HBO series (per The Hollywood Reporter), co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann confirmed that Dever is effectively going to be the star of the third season, and they expressed gratitude to the corporate powers-that-be that allowed such a risk to be taken. After all, this is not something that was guaranteed at all with a different group of executives — ones who were probably more intent on keeping Pedro Pascal around longer.

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Speaking in particular about the creative swing, Druckmann had the following to say:

“I was sure that they wouldn’t let us do this when we started adapting this, but they’ve leaned into what makes, I believe, the story special. And allowed us not only the time but the creative freedom to be able to take these swings, and I think the audience really appreciates that.”

Our general feeling here is that a Dever-led third season is designed mostly to ensure that there is an even greater impact around a possible season 4, one that is likely going to be the final chapter. We do believe that the producers do want us to understand and sympathize more with Abby, which is still going to be difficult given what she did. However, we understand the desire to stay close to the games, and that Kaitlyn is the sort of actress who is more than capable of carrying a show.

Related – When will The Last of Us season 3 actually end up premiering?

What do you think about Kaitlyn Dever being the star of The Last of Us season 3?

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