EXCLUSIVE: Two-time Emmy nominee Peter Sarsgaard has joined the Season 3 cast of HBO‘s popular post-apocalyptic drama The Last Of Us as recurring. He is playing a new character not in the Naughty Dog video game the series is based on: Amon, one of the leaders of The Seraphites.

Word of Sarsgaard’s casting comes as The Last Of Us has kicked off a mid-shoot hiatus. The planned production break, believed to be around a month, coincides with the FIFA World Cup. Vancouver, where The Last Of Us films, is one of the host cities of the tournament, which captivates the world’s attention for a month every four years while also disrupting live — including location work — in the cities where the games take place.

After the hiatus, filming is slated to continue through the end of the year for a premiere in 2027. Season 3 is likely — but not confirmed — to be The Last Of Us‘ final installment.

Co-created by Craig Mazin and the game’s Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. The story began with Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor, getting hired to smuggle Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Season 2 picked up five years after the events of the first season. No details regarding Season 3’s plot have been revealed but it is expected to focus on Abby Anderson (Kaitlyn Dever)’s arc, in which Seraphites play a major part.

Mazin, who served as executive producer/co-showrunner alongside Druckmann in Seasons 1 and 2, is the series’ sole showrunner for Season 3.

Sarsgaard, Emmy nominee for Hulu’s Dopesick and Apple TV’s Presumed Innocent, recently recurred on HBO’s limited series DTF St. Louis and had a role in Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie The Bride!. He is repped by Anonymous Content, WME, and Peikoff/Mahan.

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