In many ways, The Last of Us Season 1 was bigger than the video game it adapted. It expanded on storylines that felt like minor Easter eggs in the game, bringing in additional villains and stewing on larger thematic conflicts. Its scope will only get more ambitious as the HBO series moves on to The Last of Us Part II, a sprawling game with thornier existential issues on its mind.
Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have been open about the challenges they face this time around, telling Entertainment Weekly that Season 2 will be much more “dense” than its predecessor. It will also include “lost levels” cut from the game that add context about characters new and old. There’s so much to explore, in fact, that one additional season won’t be enough to cover it all. Another season is on the way after Season 2 airs this spring, turning this two-part tale into more of a triptych.
Ahead of Season 2’s April 13 premiere, HBO renewed The Last of Us for a third season. The announcement came after a wave of positive reviews for Season 2.
“It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us is,” said HBO’s Head of Drama Series and Films, Francesca Orsi. “We’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”
There’s no word yet on how much of the game Season 2 will cover, but with all that material at their fingertips, Mazin and Druckmann could easily split an adaptation across two seasons. We know Season 2 picks up a few years after the end of Season 1, and deals with the fallout of Joel’s (Pedro Pascal) divisive choice to save his surrogate daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey) from certain doom. Keeping Ellie alive means the world may never find a cure to the fungal virus turning everyone into zombies, however, miring a simple rescue mission with big moral questions.
For its heady emotional stakes, Mazin likens Season 2 to Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back. “We love that one because the second act is the tough act,” the writer told The Hollywood Reporter. “That’s when everything is challenged and characters go through these moments where they can’t be who they used to be, but they’re also not ready to be who they’re supposed to be. There’s a sense of feeling lost.”
By that logic, our cast will (hopefully) find themselves again in Season 3. Whether it’ll be the last installment of The Last of Us is still up in the air, but at least we won’t have to say goodbye to Ellie any time soon.
