Li Jun Li added to Season 3 cast of HBO's The Last of Us

Li Jun Li is the newest major addition to HBO’s The Last of Us season 3, and the role tells you a lot about where the show is headed next. She’s playing Miriam, a Seraphite and the mother of Lev and Yara. That is not just another side-character casting update. It’s a clue that season 3 plans to spend real time inside the Seraphite world and inside Abby’s side of the Seattle story. ### Who is Li Jun Li playing? She’s been cast as Miriam, the mother of Lev and Yara — the Seraphite siblings who become central to Abby’s story in The Last of Us Part II. That detail came out in the first trade reports on April 17, and it lines up with earlier season 3 casting for Kyriana Kratter as Lev and Michelle Mao as Yara. (deadline.com) ### Why does Miriam matter? Because Miriam is not a random invented name dropped into a giant ensemble. She sits right at the emotional fault line of the Seraphite storyline. Lev and Yara are the characters who crack Abby open a bit — they force her(deadline.com)eir mother a defined on-screen role suggests the show wants more than quick plot function from that family. (variety.com) ### Why does this point to Abby? Season 3 has already been framed as Abby’s season. HBO renewed the show for a third season on April 9, 2025, before season 2 even premiered, and the creative team later made clear that the next chapter would shif(variety.com)rst Ellie’s side of Seattle, then Abby’s. (press.wbd.com) ### So is this bigger than one casting? Yes — because the pattern matters more than the single hire. First Lev and Yara were cast. Then Li Jun Li was added as their mother. Other season 3 reports have also pointed to more Seattle-(press.wbd.com)building the social world Abby moves through, including the people caught in the Seraphite-WLF conflict. (variety.com) ### Is Miriam from the game? Not in the same foregrounded way. That’s the interesting part. The games give Lev and Yara emotional weight, but TV adaptations often pull background relationships forward so choices hit harder on screen. A mother ch(variety.com)n families — not just what they represent as a faction. That’s an inference, but it fits the role description and the show’s habit of expanding side characters. (variety.com) ### Why Li Jun Li specifically? Timing helps. Li Jun Li has had a visible run lately, with trade coverage framing her as one of the breakout performers from Sinners. HBO is clearly not treating Miriam like a throwaway bit part if it wants an actor arriving with that level of momentum and screen presence. (deadline.com) ### When will people actually see this? Not soon. There’s still no exact premiere date for season 3, and the current reporting points to 2027 rather than 2026. So this is early-stage map-reading — but useful map-reading, because casting usually reveals what a season thinks is important before trailers do. (thegww.com) ### Bottom line? Li Jun Li joining The Last of Us matters because the role is specific. Miriam connects directly to Lev, Yara, the Seraphites, and Abby’s moral turn in Seattle. So the real news here is not just “another actor joined.” It’s that HBO seems to be widening the len(thegww.com)f events viewers already saw from Ellie’s side.