The Last of Us Season 2 Release Window Confirmed by HBO Boss

Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann for HBO, The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama series based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog. The show starred Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the lead roles and follows the story set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its host to transform into zombie-like creatures. This eventually leads to the collapse of society, but Pascal escorts Ramsey, who is immune to the infection across the post-apocalyptic US.

Upon release, the show was dubbed the best adaptation of a video game and was highly praised for its performance, writing, background score, direction, and production design. Fans not only praised the show but have been waiting patiently for the second season, and the HBO boss has answered.

HBO CEO teases the S2 of The Last of Us by stating ‘everybody is going to love it’

Fans of The Last of Us have been eagerly waiting since 2023 for the second season to premiere, as they want to see how the story unfolds between Pedro Pascal’s Joel and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie.

During the finale of season one, Joel saves Ellie from sacrificing herself to find a cure for the infection, but to save her, Joel has to fight and eventually kill a lot of people. He lies to Ellie, and the tension between the two could be sensed when they left the audience in 2023.

Recently, in speaking to Deadline at Emmy’s afterparty, Chairman and CEO of HBO, Casey Bloys, was asked about the highly anticipated series, to which he said,

Well, all I’ll say now is that generally, in the first half of the year, I expect them to be in the Emmy window. I’ve seen Last of Us. I think everybody is going to love what co-creator Craig Mazin is doing.

The S2 is reportedly going to cover the events in the sequel video game The Last of Us Part II released in 2020, which takes place five years after the events of the first game and opens with relatively settled Joel and Ellie in Wyoming.

Their lives will be disrupted with the arrival of Kaitlyn Dever, who’d play Abby in the show, has a personal vendetta against Joel. In an interview with Gizmodo, the creator Craig Mazin stated that the show is not going to overstay its welcome. He said,

I am not interested in going beyond the existing source material. As a viewer, I have no problem watching shows that just keep going and going and going. No problem. But as a writer, I don’t want to be in the position of spinning plates to just spool out season after season of stuff.

He added that for him, it is important for things to serve their purpose and end. Editor Timothy Good has informed fans online that the filming for Season 2 of The Last of Us has been completed. He added that his work on S2 has begun as he begins to edit the new season. (via ComicBook)

Pedro Pascal talks about changes in Joel’s story in S2 of The Last of Us

Game of Thrones actor Pedro Pascal back in January shared with Deadline when asked if his character would deviate from the storyline that is shown in the game. He said,

They’re always going to find ways to build on the incredible source material they have and surprise us with how they can use that material in a different format, like a television show.

Pascal refrained himself from spoiling season 2 of the show but at the time mentioned that he did not have all the information. The creator, Neil Druckmann, was thrilled to have been working on the show, as he shared with Inverse that he was able to finally use the plotline he had intended to develop for the game, but somehow it didn’t work. He said,

I wrote this backstory for this character that ties back to Joel and Ellie; here’s like the story, and Craig’s eyes would light up, and he’d be like, ‘Oh my God, we got to get that in the show’.

Season two of The Last of Us is scheduled for release in early 2025. The first look for the upcoming season was released in August. The first season is available to stream on MAX.