HBO’s The Last of Us is expanding its ensemble for the upcoming third season, with Li Jun Li joining the post-apocalyptic drama. The actor, who recently earned widespread praise for her performance in Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-winning Sinners, will portray Mirium, a member of the Seraphites and the mother of siblings Lev and Yara.
The characters of Lev and Yara had already been announced, with Michelle Mao and Kyriana Kratter stepping into those roles. Season 3 will delve deeper into their storyline as part of a larger narrative shift.
The new season is set to adapt the latter half of the video game The Last of Us Part II, turning its focus toward Abby, played by Kaitlyn Dever. This marks a significant narrative transition following Season 2, which explored the strained dynamic between Joel and Ellie in an increasingly hostile world.
Set in a society that has collapsed two decades after a devastating outbreak, the series originally followed Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), across a dangerous United States. What begins as a simple mission evolves into a deeply emotional and perilous journey, binding the two together in unexpected ways.
Behind the scenes, Craig Mazin continues as the sole showrunner for Season 3, after co-creating the series with Neil Druckmann, the creative force behind the original Naughty Dog game.
Li’s recent work as Grace Chow in Sinners drew critical acclaim, and she is set to appear next alongside Nicolas Cage in the upcoming live-action series Spider-Noir, which premieres on Prime Video on May 27.
