The first season of The Last Of Us has come to an end, what’s next?
Now that the first season of The Last of Us has come to an end, fans are already eager to learn more about what’s in store for the future of the popular video game adaptation.
Details are scarce currently, but without diving into spoilers for those unfamiliar with gaming, let’s talk about what we know so far.
The most pressing question, but also one that we probably won’t know the answer to for a while. There hasn’t been any official announcement, other than confirmation that yes, the show has been renewed for a second season, but speculation suggests we won’t get the new season until late 2024 or early 2025.
The creators are currently in pre-production, and star Pedro Pascal told Collider that the next season could begin filming later this year.
Who returns for the second season?
Pascal will reprise her role as Joel and Bella Ramsey will return as Ellie. Gabriel Luna (Tommy) and Rutina Wesley (Maria) will also reportedly return for next season.
Ramsey’s return is of particular interest, as there’s technically a five-year-jump between the game’s first and second installments. But since they were 19 playing a 14-year-old boy in the first season, it made sense to keep them playing a 19-year-old boy in the second season.
“We’re extremely fortunate to have Bella and the things she’s seen throughout this entire season,” Neil Druckmann said at a recent press conference. “The only way we would ever consider changing Bella’s role is if she said, ‘I don’t want to work with you anymore.'”
The second season will begin to dive into The Last of Us Part II.
The series will continue to follow the overall scheme of the game, focusing on the events of The Last of Us Part II for the second season. But, as with the first season, there will be points where the program diverges from the canon of the game.
“[Season 2] will be different just like this season was different,” Mazin said. “Sometimes it will be radically different, and sometimes [it’s] it will be quite different at all, but it will be different. It will be our own thing. It won’t be exactly like the game.
What happens after that?
The creative team has already said that The Last of Us isn’t going to continue the story beyond games, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to end with two seasons.
Mazin and Druckmann were cautious in stating how many seasons it will take to count Part II, but insisted it would be more than one.
“Obviously, there’s a lot more story to tell that exists. The second game is much bigger than the first, the amount of story is much bigger,” Mazin previously told The Wrap. More recently, he clarified to GQ that they are not referring to how many seasons it might take for the second game to adapt, but “more than one is objectively correct.”
We don’t yet know if there is or will be a Part III of the game, but Druckmann has previously expressed interest in finding a “compelling story” to continue the story. If that’s the case, we could possibly see it incorporated into the HBO series, if time aligns.
Where can I watch The Last of Us?
The Last of Us airs on HBO Max.
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