The upcoming third season of HBO’s The Last of Us TV adaptation will feature a new actor playing WLF member Manny.
As first reported by nexuspointnews, Danny Ramirez has departed the show due to scheduling conflicts. As such, the role is now being recast, though who will fill Manny’s shoes is yet to be determined.
As well as The L ast of Us, Ramirez is also known to many as Joaquin Torres/Falcon in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He is due to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, as well as in the upcoming Jean-Michel Basquiat biopic Samo Lives.
As for Manny, when Ramirez was first announced to be joining The Last of Us, the showrunners described his character 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”.
Ramirez’s Manny joined fellow newcomers Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Ariela Barer as Mel, Spencer Lord as Owen, Young Mazino as Jesse, Catherine O’Hara as Gail and Isabela Merced as Dina for the second season of The Last of Us. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, meanwhile, reprised their roles as Joel and Ellie.
Ramirez is not the only key team member to be leaving the show for season three. Last year, Neil Druckmann announced he was stepping back from the series after The Last of Us season two, in order to focus on Naughty Dog‘s gaming output, which includes Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. Druckmann had previously worked on The Last of Us’ adaptation as a co-showrunner, director, writer and producer.
While he’s returned to full-time video game development, Druckmann has since said he will remain somewhat involved in The Last of Us’ adaptation at a “very high level” to make sure it’s “as deeply faithful” as the show’s first season was.