Bella Ramsey to Return in The Last of Us Season 3: What's Next for Ellie and Abby?
Shreeaa Rathi | TIMESOFINDIA.COM | May 27, 2025, 21:30 IST
( Image credit : TOI-Online, TOIGLOBAL )
Rumors suggest Bella Ramsey is set to reprise her role in 'The Last of Us' Season 3, where the narrative will delve into the lives of Abby, Dina, and even some characters who have met their demise. Production designer John Paino infused the show's environment with elements from the game, striving for a sense of realism.
Bella Ramsey is expected to return for The Last of Us season three, despite the season two finale leaving Ellie's fate uncertain, as confirmed by Ramsey and series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann; the show shifts its narrative to center around Kaitlyn Dever's Abby, Dina played by Isabela Merced and characters who are currently dead in the story. Production designer John Paino discussed the challenges of creating the show's world, aiming for realism and balancing the apocalyptic setting with human drama, drawing inspiration from the game's concept art and focusing on how people would survive and adapt in a desolated environment. The production team prioritized building tangible sets and incorporating detailed elements to enhance the immersive experience for the actors and viewers.
Bella Ramsey confirmed her expected return for the HBO series' third season. "I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that," Ramsey told Variety in an interview published May 25.
Ramsey anticipates reduced screen time for Ellie in season three, allowing the story to focus on Abby. "I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch."
Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have confirmed Ramsey's return, without specifying the extent of her role. "All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever, and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey," Mazin said in a May 23 press conference.
Mazin also hinted at the return of other characters. Fans "will also haven't seen the last of Dina (played by Isabela Merced ), as well as 'the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.'"
Druckmann added that even deceased characters will have a presence in the story. "Whether you will see them on screen or not, their presence will be there throughout."
The potential return of Pedro Pascal as Joel was also alluded to, despite the character's death in season two. “I wouldn’t have guessed we would have a short story about Joel’s dad before we wrote the season, so there you go," Druckmann said, referencing a flashback to Joel's childhood.
Production designer John Paino emphasized the importance of the original game as a source of inspiration. "The game is the vision," Paino told E! News, referring to the 2013 PlayStation title.
Paino noted the cinematic quality of the game's concept art. "The concept art for the game always looked cinematic. It had a sense of place and lighting and realism to it."
Paino described the challenges of creating a realistic and layered world. "The biggest challenge was just working in a real-life situation. We're doing a period piece on top of a desiccated apocalyptic piece, that is also a drama about the people. So there were these multi-layers."
Production commenced in Calgary in July 2021, with the city serving as a primary location. Calgary "worked for certain things," he said, but "I don't think there was ever a location that didn't get some love from the art department or rebuilding. Also, everything has been neglected for 20 years,"
Paino shared that the team had to modify locations to fit the post-apocalyptic setting. They'd "have to change anything too recognizably modern, such as computerized parking meters."
Paino presented collages to producers to convey the game's essence. One set of images resonated in particular: Broken restaurant chairs in a Hong Kong alley that people had made usable again with makeshift fixes, propping them up with traffic cones or rigging a piece of wood in place of a missing leg.
Paino explained the significance of these images. After 20 years of not having anything, the question was, "How do people survive?" Paino thought. "How do people make do? I would show that picture to give them the idea of the desiccation and the ingenuity—that sense of hopelessness that's also balanced with hopefulness."
Craig Mazin responded positively to Paino's vision. Series co-creator Craig Mazin thought those images were "the cat's pajamas," Paino said, "and they were off to the races."
Paino credited the visual effects team for creating realistic cityscapes. But everything the actors encountered up close actually existed.
Paino described the approach to set design. "Where they're coming out of the QZ, everything around them is built, that's all sculpted," he said. "They're walking through that and then we pan out, and that is created in the computer. But basically our rule of thumb was to go 20 feet up in the air with our dressing and then dress everything around them. They're not just walking through stages of green screen, ever."
Paino explained the decision to use a vibrant color palette. "I never wanted it to feel like a Dutch painting, where everything was brown," Paino quipped.
He also noted the importance of Ellie's perspective in shaping the visual tone. And for Ellie, who's never been out of the QZ until she sets off with Joel ( Pedro Pascal ) and Tess ( Anna Torv ) , everything's a little brighter for her since she's seeing the world with fresh eyes, he explained.
Paino highlighted the use of detailed models in the production process. Painstakingly detailed white card models were also "super-helpful," the production designer noted.
"We had an incredible model maker," Paino shared. "My favorite was the giant model for the cul-de-sac [in episode five, "Endure and Survive"] where the clickers come out of the ground. That whole sequence, so much stunt coordination."
The town of Canmore was used to represent Jackson, Wyo. "We put in the wall and rebuilt a lot of the facades," Paino noted.
Paino expressed his enthusiasm for the paddock built for the Jackson set. "That was just so much fun to have a paddock!" he said. "We had a few cows and some sheep, we had horses. The set decorating department was fabulous."
Paino's favorite set was the mall in episode seven. The Northland Village Mall in Calgary "was destined to be," the designer said. "It was stripped of everything, it was going to be torn down, so we lucked out in finding it. All the facades in it were rebuilt. All the signage, the dreck, the vines, the merry-go-round was brought in."
The set decorators focused on recreating the details of a 2003 mall. Paino noted that all the brand names—from the mall storefronts to an abandoned Arby's in Kansas City (where Matchstick Men and Underworld are forever on the theater marquee) to a "we take Mastercard" sign on the door of a restaurant where the wine glasses on the still-set tables are full of moss—were specific to the show, as the video game didn't include any trademarked products.
The production team leased a carousel for the mall scene. They added reflective panels to the center of the ride to add to the surreality of the experience.
Paino discussed the creation of Raja's Arcade. As for Raja's Arcade (which comes from the game), Paino said, "being a child of the '70s, I spent a lot of time in a mall arcade, so that was easy."
"It was so much fun to put up all the neon," he continued, and "we were able to get a carpet that was right from the '70s, that great Zippy satellite pattern."
Paino explained the modifications made to the arcade games. But the cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors that games from 20 years ago had came out blurry on camera, so they replaced them with flat LED screens in order to capture the action clearly.
Another favorite set for Paino was the town where Bill and Frank lived. They had "such a short window" to set the scene, from bringing in the greenery to sculpting the Civil War monument, Paino said. "I think we were working up until late at night the day before it shot."
Paino described the evolution of Bill's house. Bill's house was more his mom's, someone who was rich and keeping it almost like a museum," Paino explained the vision behind the old-lady decor when the gruff survivalist is first introduced. Frank got there and basically said to himself, "'Okay, well, what do I do?'" Paino mused. "'I go to Target and get paints.'"
Paino elaborated on Frank's influence on the house's decor. "Go to Michael's, paint, hang the pictures, add some life and flowers,'" Paino continued. "'That was a nice bit of world-building.'"
Paino discussed the challenges of filming in Waterton Lakes National Park. With few residents at the resort area during the winter, "there's nothing there," said Paino, "and there's, like, nine feet of snow."
Paino recalled the harsh conditions during scouting. When they were scouting in Waterton, where Ellie's run-in with David's ( Scott Shepherd ) cannibal cult is set, "we went up to a hill and we all got blown off," recalled Paino, who was on location for 16 months. "No effects required to send us on our butts, flying. But it's an unbelievable place."
Paino described the creation of the giraffe scene. Joel and Ellie are "walking through a construction site, which was a location in downtown Calgary that we did some work to. They're going up the staircase—that was a set built on a stage. The giraffes' enclosure [at the zoo] had a balcony where the keepers would feed them. Over a period of a month and a half, maybe a bit longer, we slowly introduced pieces of scenery and green screen in there, so it would match that very iconic scene of them making their way up to the top of the desiccated building and seeing [Colorado] laid out."
Paino emphasized the importance of intimate storytelling. "It is a story about the people. We don't do a lot of big 'there's the world!'"
Paino concluded by stating the goal of avoiding "disaster porn." And yet they wanted it to resonate, such as when Ellie is rifling through a drawer in an abandoned home and finds needle and thread, that "this was someone's house, this was someone's bar."
Bella Ramsey confirmed her expected return for the HBO series' third season. "I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that," Ramsey told Variety in an interview published May 25.
Ramsey anticipates reduced screen time for Ellie in season three, allowing the story to focus on Abby. "I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch."
Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have confirmed Ramsey's return, without specifying the extent of her role. "All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever, and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey," Mazin said in a May 23 press conference.
Mazin also hinted at the return of other characters. Fans "will also haven't seen the last of Dina (played by Isabela Merced ), as well as 'the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.'"
Druckmann added that even deceased characters will have a presence in the story. "Whether you will see them on screen or not, their presence will be there throughout."
The potential return of Pedro Pascal as Joel was also alluded to, despite the character's death in season two. “I wouldn’t have guessed we would have a short story about Joel’s dad before we wrote the season, so there you go," Druckmann said, referencing a flashback to Joel's childhood.
Production designer John Paino emphasized the importance of the original game as a source of inspiration. "The game is the vision," Paino told E! News, referring to the 2013 PlayStation title.
Paino noted the cinematic quality of the game's concept art. "The concept art for the game always looked cinematic. It had a sense of place and lighting and realism to it."
Paino described the challenges of creating a realistic and layered world. "The biggest challenge was just working in a real-life situation. We're doing a period piece on top of a desiccated apocalyptic piece, that is also a drama about the people. So there were these multi-layers."
Production commenced in Calgary in July 2021, with the city serving as a primary location. Calgary "worked for certain things," he said, but "I don't think there was ever a location that didn't get some love from the art department or rebuilding. Also, everything has been neglected for 20 years,"
Paino shared that the team had to modify locations to fit the post-apocalyptic setting. They'd "have to change anything too recognizably modern, such as computerized parking meters."
Paino presented collages to producers to convey the game's essence. One set of images resonated in particular: Broken restaurant chairs in a Hong Kong alley that people had made usable again with makeshift fixes, propping them up with traffic cones or rigging a piece of wood in place of a missing leg.
Paino explained the significance of these images. After 20 years of not having anything, the question was, "How do people survive?" Paino thought. "How do people make do? I would show that picture to give them the idea of the desiccation and the ingenuity—that sense of hopelessness that's also balanced with hopefulness."
Craig Mazin responded positively to Paino's vision. Series co-creator Craig Mazin thought those images were "the cat's pajamas," Paino said, "and they were off to the races."
Paino credited the visual effects team for creating realistic cityscapes. But everything the actors encountered up close actually existed.
Paino described the approach to set design. "Where they're coming out of the QZ, everything around them is built, that's all sculpted," he said. "They're walking through that and then we pan out, and that is created in the computer. But basically our rule of thumb was to go 20 feet up in the air with our dressing and then dress everything around them. They're not just walking through stages of green screen, ever."
Paino explained the decision to use a vibrant color palette. "I never wanted it to feel like a Dutch painting, where everything was brown," Paino quipped.
He also noted the importance of Ellie's perspective in shaping the visual tone. And for Ellie, who's never been out of the QZ until she sets off with Joel ( Pedro Pascal ) and Tess ( Anna Torv ) , everything's a little brighter for her since she's seeing the world with fresh eyes, he explained.
Paino highlighted the use of detailed models in the production process. Painstakingly detailed white card models were also "super-helpful," the production designer noted.
"We had an incredible model maker," Paino shared. "My favorite was the giant model for the cul-de-sac [in episode five, "Endure and Survive"] where the clickers come out of the ground. That whole sequence, so much stunt coordination."
The town of Canmore was used to represent Jackson, Wyo. "We put in the wall and rebuilt a lot of the facades," Paino noted.
Paino expressed his enthusiasm for the paddock built for the Jackson set. "That was just so much fun to have a paddock!" he said. "We had a few cows and some sheep, we had horses. The set decorating department was fabulous."
Paino's favorite set was the mall in episode seven. The Northland Village Mall in Calgary "was destined to be," the designer said. "It was stripped of everything, it was going to be torn down, so we lucked out in finding it. All the facades in it were rebuilt. All the signage, the dreck, the vines, the merry-go-round was brought in."
The set decorators focused on recreating the details of a 2003 mall. Paino noted that all the brand names—from the mall storefronts to an abandoned Arby's in Kansas City (where Matchstick Men and Underworld are forever on the theater marquee) to a "we take Mastercard" sign on the door of a restaurant where the wine glasses on the still-set tables are full of moss—were specific to the show, as the video game didn't include any trademarked products.
The production team leased a carousel for the mall scene. They added reflective panels to the center of the ride to add to the surreality of the experience.
Paino discussed the creation of Raja's Arcade. As for Raja's Arcade (which comes from the game), Paino said, "being a child of the '70s, I spent a lot of time in a mall arcade, so that was easy."
"It was so much fun to put up all the neon," he continued, and "we were able to get a carpet that was right from the '70s, that great Zippy satellite pattern."
Paino explained the modifications made to the arcade games. But the cathode-ray tube (CRT) monitors that games from 20 years ago had came out blurry on camera, so they replaced them with flat LED screens in order to capture the action clearly.
Another favorite set for Paino was the town where Bill and Frank lived. They had "such a short window" to set the scene, from bringing in the greenery to sculpting the Civil War monument, Paino said. "I think we were working up until late at night the day before it shot."
Paino described the evolution of Bill's house. Bill's house was more his mom's, someone who was rich and keeping it almost like a museum," Paino explained the vision behind the old-lady decor when the gruff survivalist is first introduced. Frank got there and basically said to himself, "'Okay, well, what do I do?'" Paino mused. "'I go to Target and get paints.'"
Paino elaborated on Frank's influence on the house's decor. "Go to Michael's, paint, hang the pictures, add some life and flowers,'" Paino continued. "'That was a nice bit of world-building.'"
Paino discussed the challenges of filming in Waterton Lakes National Park. With few residents at the resort area during the winter, "there's nothing there," said Paino, "and there's, like, nine feet of snow."
Paino recalled the harsh conditions during scouting. When they were scouting in Waterton, where Ellie's run-in with David's ( Scott Shepherd ) cannibal cult is set, "we went up to a hill and we all got blown off," recalled Paino, who was on location for 16 months. "No effects required to send us on our butts, flying. But it's an unbelievable place."
Paino described the creation of the giraffe scene. Joel and Ellie are "walking through a construction site, which was a location in downtown Calgary that we did some work to. They're going up the staircase—that was a set built on a stage. The giraffes' enclosure [at the zoo] had a balcony where the keepers would feed them. Over a period of a month and a half, maybe a bit longer, we slowly introduced pieces of scenery and green screen in there, so it would match that very iconic scene of them making their way up to the top of the desiccated building and seeing [Colorado] laid out."
Paino emphasized the importance of intimate storytelling. "It is a story about the people. We don't do a lot of big 'there's the world!'"
Paino concluded by stating the goal of avoiding "disaster porn." And yet they wanted it to resonate, such as when Ellie is rifling through a drawer in an abandoned home and finds needle and thread, that "this was someone's house, this was someone's bar."