Don’t blink. You might miss Patrick Wilson’s next role. The actor best known for Insidious, Watchmen, Aquaman, and more was just cast in The Last of Us season three as Abby’s (Kaitlyn Dever) father, Jerry. Abby’s father. Who Joel killed at the end of season one, setting the stage for Abby to kill Joel in season two.
The InSneider broke the news of Wilson’s casting, which was then confirmed by Deadline. The trade added that Jason Ritter, star of Matlock and Parenthood, is also joining the third season as a WLF soldier named Hanley, and second-season supporting players Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, and Spencer Lord have been promoted to series regulars as some of Abby’s friends. They’ll all, of course, be joined by the returning Dever, Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, and Jeffrey Wright, among others.
But back to Wilson, who is by far the most interesting piece of this puzzle. As we said, we already saw his character killed on the show. And season three will take place simultaneously to the events of season two, just from Abby’s perspective instead of Ellie’s. So Jerry, the doctor Joel killed, who could’ve saved the world, is long gone by this point.
However, the casting suggests showrunner Craig Mazin is sticking very closely to the events of The Last of Us Part II video game. The second half of the game has multiple flashbacks involving Jerry, both his interactions with Abby and the run-up to meeting Ellie and his demise. It’s not a huge role overall, but it’s an important one. And there’s every chance Mazin may have expanded the role further, possibly even showing the Joel kill scene with Wilson as Jerry. That could require Pedro Pascal to return, however, and that has yet to be confirmed.
Either way, The Last of Us season three is shaping up nicely, especially if an actor as prevalent as Wilson is signing on for a character whose death happened a full season ago. It’s expected to hit HBO sometime in 2027.
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