‘The Last of Us’ Recasts Major Character for Season 3

One major player in HBO’s apocalyptic drama The Last of Us will look different when the series eventually returns for a third season.

Danny Ramirez, who plays Manny Alvarez in the series, will not appear in the upcoming third season due to scheduling conflicts.

Ramirez had to bow out of future appearances in the show thanks to his contract with Marvel, as he will reprise his role as Joaquin Torres a.k.a. Falcon in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. He began playing the role in the 2021 streaming series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and appeared again in this year’s theatrical film Captain America: Brave New World.

In The Last of Us, Manny is a close ally of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who helps her seek out revenge on Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) for carrying out the Firefly Massacre in Salt Lake City all the way back in Season 1. At the end of the second season, he had achieved his goal and is now serving as a soldier of the Washington Liberation Front (also known as the Wolves).

Assuming the third season adheres to the storyline of the video game it’s based on, Manny will have a major role to play—and an upcoming showdown with Joel’s brother, Tommy.

Ramirez isn’t the only departure from the TV version of The Last of Us. Neil Druckmann, who created the Last of Us video games and wrote for the TV series, departed the series ahead of Season 3 to work on other projects.

Seasons 1 and 2 of The Last of Us are streaming now on HBO.