Will our beloved post-apocalyptic gaming series be back for another Season?
The Last of Us is an American post-apocalyptic drama television series that was released on HBO Max on January 15th, 2023, adapted from the acclaimed game Naughty Dog. It is not a surprise that HBO managed to snag one of the best plots for a world-acclaimed gaming series and had the audience glued to their screens from the beginning, much as if they were actually playing the video game. The Last of Us has garnered the reputation of being one of the biggest new television shows of 2023, backed up by its reputation of being one of the greatest video game adaptations of all time.
With the final episode of The Last Of Us Season 1, fans were left in a frenzy, scrambling for consolation for when The Last Of Us would make a comeback with a Season 2. If you are a part of this gang, welcome to Web News Observer, where we will provide you with all the necessary updates that we have gathered for the next season of The Last Of Us.
The Last of Us Season 2: Renewal Status
To every fan’s amazement, before the finale episode of Season 1 even aired, a Season 2 renewal was introduced by creator Neil Druckmann who wrote on Twitter that “Season 2 is already on its way! Endure or survive.” Check out the post.
No TLoU on HBO tonight. But Season 2 is already on its way! Endure & survive! pic.twitter.com/87bKKCDBeO
— Neil Druckmann (@Neil_Druckmann) March 19, 2023
Paired with this renewal announcement, Druckmann also expressed his gratitude for a Season 2 renewal, saying,
“I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog & PlayStation, thank you!”
Seems like we are not the only ones who are excited about the comeback of Elle and the gang in an Arcadian symphony!
Executive producer and series Craig Mazin expressed his endearment on second season renewal. Mazin said,
“I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey. The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in.”
The showrunner added while speaking to Deadline,
“Even though we were green-lit for a season of television, Neil and I felt like we couldn’t just make a season of television without considering what would come after. There is more The Last of Us to come.”
So now the main question remains: When will The Last Of Us Season 2 air on HBO?
The Last of Us Season 2: Release Date Prediction
Even after its renewal, it is safe to say that we will be waiting a while before we come across a new season of the series. This is because production for The Last of Us Season 2 has been halted due to the recent events surrounding the WGA SAG AFTRA strikes. We are currently entering the third month of the strike, which is August and no imperative steps have been taken to negotiate the unions’ demands or to curb the protests through peaceful resolution.
When the strike took flight, the scripts were still in the development stage, and the filming had not begun yet.
So until the strike situation reaches a focal point of negotiation or initiates any form of dissipation, the production for The Last Of Us Season 2 shall remain on an indefinite hiatus and predictions of release date seems meaningless. Nonetheless, we can make a calculated guess following the release pattern of Season 1.
Digital Spy states, “In total, it took 18 months from the date when the first scene was shot to the launch of season one on January 15th, 2023.”So, presuming the work begins in April 2023, we cannot expect the second season to air on HBO before the second quarter of 2024 or even early 2025.
This was further confirmed by actress Bella Ramsey,
“It will be a while. I think we’ll probably shoot at the end of this year, or the beginning of next. So it’ll probably be the end of 2024, early 2025.”
Another confirmation came from the Head of HBO, Francesca Orci, who told Deadline that the second season is currently scheduled to air in 2025.
The Last of Us Season 2: Cast
The second season will probably be based on the groundwork laid by The Last of Us Part II. If that is the case, both Joel(Pedro Pascal) and Ellie(Bella Ramsey) will be back.
We suspect Joel’s brother Tommy, played by Gabriel Luna to also reprise his role in the second season. The Last of Us Part II also introduces a new lead called Abby Anderson and Ellie’s girlfriend, Dina. Their roles remain to be cast, along with the following characters (courtesy of Digital Spy):
- Jesse (Dina’s ex-boyfriend)
- Owen (Abby’s ex-boyfriend)
- Lev and Yara (siblings who have been denounced by the Seraphite cult and who team up with Abby)
In relation to Joel’s demise, which may be covered in Season 2, Pascal says,
“I don’t know. I think Part Two has more leeway. It seemed to be a different immersive experience, while things must happen for the central narrative to occur. It seems it’s a little bit more open. That means I don’t…know.” (Variety)
The Last of Us Season 2: Possible Plot
*Spoiler Alert*
As mentioned previously, the second season will presumably be based on The Last of Us Part II. Digital Spy contends, “It could be that the second season of the show will focus mainly on Ellie, Dina, Abby, and possibly Tommy, with Joel appearing only in early episodes before he’s killed off or in flashbacks later on…”
Talking about Abby, Mazin said to Collider,
“Anytime you talk about Abby, you start to excite certain corners of the internet. All I can say is that Neil and I will be adapting the story to television, as best we see fit. It seems likely that main characters that are crucial to the storyline would be portrayed, but no, right now, it’s too early for me to commit to anything in print, let’s put it that way.”
Commenting on Ellie and Dina’s love story, Bella said,
“I’ve watched a cut together, someone’s made a phenomenal — I don’t know how they do it — like an amazing edit of just the gameplay, like Ellie and Dina’s love story. So I’m excited to play that out. [I’m excited by] the complexity of her relationship with Joel and how that gets decidedly more complex, and I’m looking forward to that. And the violence that ensues is thrilling, in a way. To get to maybe explore that in a really safe environment will be cool. But I am nervous about it, too.”
A different Ellie who could emerge in season 2, Mazin stated(via Variety),
“We know what we’re going to do in terms of her costume and makeup and hair. But more importantly, we know the spirit and soul of the actor. She’s 19 now, which is the same age as Ellie in The Last of Us Part II… it will be different. It will be different just as this season was different. Sometimes it will be different radically… it won’t be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make.”
In conversation with L’Officiel, Ramsey said,
“It’s like the trolley problem. I don’t really know what I’d do. It depends on who the person was and it depends on how messed up humanity is, but I can see why Joel did what he did. Me as Bella, I’m not mad about it or mad at him, but Ellie is mad obviously because [being the cure] was her purpose. That’s what she was. She felt like she actually mattered and, ironically, Joel took away that purpose from her because she mattered so much to him.”
If we come across more intel on the plot lines that may open up for The Last Of Us Season 2, we will keep updating this space.
The Last of Us Season 2: Where To Watch
The Last of Us will arrive on both the HBO cable channel and on Max on the same day. The episodes will expectantly follow the same HBO prime time slot as the first season, that is, on Sundays at 9 PM ET/PT.
The Last of Us Season 2: Official Trailer
Since there is no official announcement regarding when The Last Of Us Season 2 will release, we do not have an official trailer for the same in possession. We will be sure to update it here as soon as we get our hands on it.
In the meantime, check out the trailer for The Last Of Us Season 1 instead:
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