‘The Last Of Us’ Adds Michelle Mao As Yara & Kyriana Kratter As Lev
EXCLUSIVE: The Last of Us has cast two key roles from the second game, siblings Yara and Lev. Bridgerton‘s Michelle Mao and Kyriana Kratter (Star Wars: Skeleton Crew) are joining the upcoming third season of the HBO post-apocalyptic drama as series regulars playing Yara and Lev, respectively.
Seraphites Yara and especially Lev are a major part of Abby Anderson’s (Kaitlyn Dever) arc, which is believed to be the focus on The Last Of Us third and likely final season. Lev is the deuteragonist of Abby’s storyline in Naughty Dog’s game, serving as her partner and moral compass.
Like in the game, Lev (Kratter) is a 13-year-old transgender boy.
HBO held an inclusive casting call for the role, with young performers of different backgrounds auditioning. It was won by Kratter — a child herself at 15 — as the actor the producers felt best embodied the character.
The Last Of Us Season 3 cast includes returning stars Dever, Bella Ramsey, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, and Jeffrey Wright, as well as newly announced additions: Clea DuVall will portray a seraphite, and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. is taking on the role of Manny, following Danny Ramirez’s departure. Jason Ritter and Patrick Wilson are recurring as Hanley, a WLF soldier, and Abby’s (Dever) father Jerry, respectively.
The Last Of Us was co-created by Craig Mazin and the game’s Neil Druckmann, with Mazin, who served as executive producer/co-showrunner alongside Druckmann in Seasons 1 and 2, as the sole showrunner for Season 3.
Kratter was a main cast member opposite Jude Law and Ryan Kiera Armstrong in Disney+’s Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. She also had a recurring role on Disney Channel’s Bunk’d. Kratter is repped by Paradigm and Complete Management Group.
Mao is coming off a major role as Sophie’s (Yerin Ha) “evil” stepsister Rosamund on the Cinderella-themed Season 4 of Netflix’s Bridgerton. She also headlines director Kogonada’s feature Zi, which premiered at Sundance in January. Mao is repped by MGMT Entertainment, Allegory Creative Talent and Gang, Tyre, Ramer.
