Last of Us expands a new on‑screen villain

HBO’s The Last of Us has cast Li Jun Li in season 3 as Miriam, the mother of Lev and Yara, enlarging a character barely seen in the game. (variety.com) (deadline.com) Variety reported the casting on April 17, 2026, and Deadline confirmed it the same day. Li broke out this year in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. (variety.com) (deadline.com) In Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II, Miriam is tied to the Seraphites, the religious group that shapes Lev and Yara’s lives, but she is not a major on-screen presence. Trade reports say the HBO series is turning that family link into a larger role. (variety.com) (ign.com) The new casting fits the show’s broader pattern of adding character material that was limited, delayed, or off-screen in the games. Season 2 had already introduced Jeffrey Wright’s Isaac Dixon with added TV emphasis as the Washington Liberation Front leader in Seattle. (radiotimes.com) (thewrap.com) Season 3 is also assembling the rest of that storyline. Michelle Mao was previously announced as Yara, and Kyriana Kratter as Lev, placing Miriam inside a family unit the series is preparing to show directly. (variety.com) (yahoo.com) HBO renewed The Last of Us for a third season before season 2 premiered, and showrunner Craig Mazin has said Part II’s story would take more than one season to tell. That structure gives the adaptation room to widen side characters into full TV arcs. (thewrap.com) (ign.com) The casting lands while the franchise is still drawing attention beyond the show. GamesRadar, citing former Naughty Dog artist Heather Cerlan, reported on April 27 that the studio had been “pretty split” over Part II’s major death. (gamesradar.com) For HBO, the immediate next step is straightforward: season 3 is building out the Seraphites as people, not just a threat on the edge of Abby and Ellie’s war. Li’s Miriam is part of that expansion. (variety.com) (deadline.com)