The first sign of movement for The Last of Us Season 3 has arrived. Actress Kaitlyn Dever has started an intense physical training program. Her preparation is for her leading role as Abby in the upcoming season. New videos show the actress performing strength exercises, signaling that production is moving forward. The season will shift its focus entirely to Abby’s perspective from the video game The Last of Us Part II.
Filming for the new season is scheduled to begin in March 2026. HBO plans to release Season 3 sometime in 2027. This follows the pattern of long gaps between seasons, with about two and a half years passing between the first and second installments.
The Physical Challenge of Becoming Game Abby
Kaitlyn Dever’s visible gym work addresses one of the most discussed aspects of her character from the source material. In the video game The Last of Us Part II, Abby is portrayed as a muscular, physically imposing soldier. Her build is a notable part of her character design. During Season 2, some viewers pointed out that Dever’s physique was different from the game character. She is shorter and had a less muscular frame in her initial appearance.
The game’s directors originally highlighted Abby’s physicality as a key trait. After casting the 5’2″ Dever, they adjusted their stance. They mentioned that her size was mainly important in the game to create different styles of play for the player. However, the new training suggests the show is now aiming for a closer match to the game’s visual of the character. A Forbes article noted the effort is likely an attempt to “bridge that gap a little bit” between the show and the game’s depiction.
Kaitlyn Dever is actively working out in the gym as part of her preparation for returning to the series.
This physical transformation is not just about appearance. The story for Season 3 will require Abby to be a capable and formidable fighter. The season will follow her journey through a war-torn Seattle, involving significant action and survival sequences.
Season 3 Story Focus and Structural Risk
The Last of Us Season 3 will adapt the second half of the Part II video game. The story will show Abby’s experiences in Seattle during the same three-day period covered in Season 2 from Ellie’s point of view. This means the show will have an almost entirely new main cast for the season, focusing on Abby and her friends in the Washington Liberation Front (WLF).
This narrative shift is a bold and risky move for a television series. In the game, players switch from playing as Ellie to playing as Abby halfway through the story. This switch can happen within minutes for a player. For the TV show, there will be a gap of roughly two years between the end of Ellie’s story in Season 2 and the start of Abby’s story in Season 3. Some analysts believe this long delay could make it challenging for audiences to reconnect with a character they have seen very little of so far.
Co-creator Neil Druckmann has expressed surprise that HBO allowed the creative team to structure the series this way. He stated, “I canโt believe that they let us structure the series in this way”. The show is committing to a format where the lead character changes completely from one season to the next.
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Confirmed Production Details and Cast
While the story will center on Abby, other familiar faces will return. Bella Ramsey as Ellie and Isabela Merced as Dina are confirmed to appear in Season 3, though their roles are expected to be reduced. The production will film in Vancouver, British Columbia, under the working title “Calm Current”. Shooting is set to run from March 2, 2026, to November 27, 2026.
The season will move forward under the guidance of showrunner Craig Mazin. Co-creator Neil Druckmann has stepped back from day-to-day involvement to focus on video game projects at Naughty Dog. However, he remains involved at a high level to ensure the show stays faithful to the source material.
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