Danny Ramirez won’t be returning to The Last of Us for season 3 as his character, Manny, has been recast. A member of the Fireflies introduced in season 2, Manny survived the hospital massacre carried out by Joel (Pedro Pascal) in the season 1 finale, and joined Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) in her revenge quest.
Manny has been described as “a loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most”.
Now, it has been announced that Ramirez won’t reprise the role of Manny in the upcoming third instalment, which was was announced last April, due to scheduling conflicts (via Entertainment Weekly). The actor’s upcoming projects include Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, a new Scarface adaptation, and his directorial debut Baton.
Following the announcement, fans took to social media to comment on the cast shake-up, with one writing on X: “That is a massive loss for The Last of Us, but Danny Ramirez’s upcoming slate is absolutely stacked!”
“Danny stays winning but I’m utterly disappointed cause I was excited to see his meatier role in Season 3,” added another fan.
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Ramirez’s exit isn’t the only shake-up the post-apocalyptic series has gone through over the last few months.
Last July, the show’s co-creator Neil Druckmann stepped down from his co-showrunner role, with the show also losing co-executive producer Halley Gross.
Druckmann, who co-created the video game the show adapts, will continue being an executive producer and carry a co-creator credit on the TV show, though his decision leaves Craig Mazin the sole showrunner going into the new instalment.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” Druckmann said in a statement shared on Instagram.
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“With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects.”
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons,” Druckmann continued.
“I’m deeply thankful of the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and their continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II. I look forward to HBO and PlayStation Productions continuing Ellie and Abby’s story next season.”
The Last of Us seasons 1 and 2 are available to watch on Sky Atlantic and NOW in the UK, and on HBO Max in the US. Season 3 has yet to confirm a release date.
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Stefania is a freelance writer specialising in TV and movies. After graduating from City University, London, she covered LGBTQ+ news and pursued a career in entertainment journalism, with her work appearing in outlets including Little White Lies, The Skinny, Radio Times and Digital Spy.Â
Her beats are horror films and period dramas, especially if fronted by queer women. She can argue why Scream is the best slasher in four languages (and a half).Â