As fans of the game know, and as the show itself made clear, The Last of Us Season 3 will shift its focus from Ellie and her quest for revenge to instead tell Abby’s side of the story from Season 2 and how her days were spent over the course of those episodes. Central to the “Abby side” of The Last of Us are two major characters, though, both of whom have been cast for the HBO series. Deadline brings word that Kyriana Kratter and Michelle Mao have been added to The Last of Us Season 3, playing the characters Lev and Yara, respectively.
The Last of Us Season 3 Confirms Its Lev and Yara
As fans of the games know well, Lev and Yara are major characters in the Abby side of The Last of Us Part II. Though the two characters are members of the seraphites, who are at odds with Abby’s WLF, the pair come together with Abby to forge a unique partnership in order to mutually assure their own survival. All of this combines to create a storyline reminiscent of Joel and Ellie, and one that already has a confrontation with Bella Ramsey’s character confirmed to occur.
Lev’s storyline in particular is one of the most distinct in The Last of Us, as the character is a transgender boy who rejects their “assigned” role by the seraphite elders instead hoping to become a warrior, prompting exile from the other seraphites. According to the trade, an “inclusive casting call” was put out by HBO in order to find the right actor for the role of Lev, with Kratter eventually winning the part. Fans have been eager to see who would take on both of these characters for the show’s upcoming third, and possibly final, season, and now we know.
Michelle Mao was seen very recently as the “evil” stepsister Rosamund in Bridgerton’s fourth season, while Kyriana Kratter is perhaps best known to fans for playing “KB” in the Disney+ series Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. The two will share the screen with Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby for most of The Last of Us Season 3, and join a cast that includes fellow newcomers Clea DuVall as a fellow seraphite, Jason Ritter as WLF soldier Haley, Patrick Wilson as Abby’s dad, Jerry, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr., who takes over the character of Manny after original star Danny Ramirez had to exit the show.
