HBOIf you’re concerned we won’t see Joel again in The Last of Us Season 3, don’t be: Pedro Pascal may not be around as much, but he isn’t leaving the show. Spoilers to follow…
I don’t blame you if you feel a bit traumatized by the events of The Last of Us Season 2. As Jackson was terrorized by a horde of infected, Joel led himself to his own execution after saving Abby and going back to her lodge.
By the end of the episode, Ellie was forced to watch and wail as Abby stuck the sharp end of a broken golf club into Joel’s neck. There’s no doubt about it: Joel is 100% dead, and it’s a harrowing moment ripped straight from its infamous source material.
However, those who’ve played the game will know this is just the beginning of the story – and Joel will show up again.
Is Pedro Pascal leaving The Last of Us?
HBONo, Pedro Pascal isn’t leaving The Last of Us. He’s due to appear as Joel in flashbacks throughout Season 2, and Season 3 is expected to feature other flashbacks too.
Perhaps the show will even recreate Part II’s reveal trailer, where Ellie vowed to Joel’s ghost that she was going to “kill every single one of them” (this also featured the same Ashley Johnson cover of ‘Through the Valley’ from the end of Episode 2).
Pascal was aware of Joel’s fate when he signed onto the project. “It’s not like they said, ‘Hey, we kill you at the beginning of Season 2,'” he explained to EW.
“But it was always an understanding that it would stay true to the source material in a specific way and that the, let’s say, practical and exclusive obligation would be for Season 1. It was just a matter of how and when.”
There is one important word there: “exclusive.” The Last of Us Season 1 had a long, involved production that heavily focused on Pascal and Bella Ramsey, whereas Ramsey will effectively become the show’s lead after Episode 2, so Pascal would have been free to work on other projects (like Fantastic Four and The Mandalorian and Grogu).
So, while he may not show up in every episode after Joel’s death, he’s still part of the series.
When will Joel return in The Last of Us?
HBOIt’s unclear exactly when Joel will appear again in The Last of Us, but his “presence” will be felt throughout the show.
“All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever, and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey, and we haven’t seen the last of Isabela Merced, and we haven’t even seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story,” Mazin said, also teasing a possible flashback with Joel and Tommy.
“Maybe a side trip to do Joel and Tommy terrorizing the countryside, we’ll never know. I wouldn’t have guessed we’d have a short story about Joel’s dad before we wrote the season,” he added.
Druckmann also said: “I’ll give a bit more, which is: Whether you will see them on screen or not, their presence will be there throughout.”
After the finale, read our breakdown of The Last of Us Season 2’s ending, find out why one of the original actors couldn’t watch the finale, and keep tabs on the year’s releases with our 2025 TV show calendar.
