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HBO's The Last of Us showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann long expressed their goal of adapting the emotional odyssey of the 2020 video game The Last of Us Part II across multiple seasons, beginning with season 2. They are now officially getting their wish.
Ahead of season 2's premiere this Sunday, the Home Box Office network formally announced a season 3 renewal.
“We approached season 2 with the goal of creating something we could be proud of," Mazin said in a statement accompanying the announcement. "The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew. We look forward to continuing the story of The Last of Us with season 3!”
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Druckmann, who co-created the original video games, also had some words to share. “To see The Last of Us brought to life so beautifully and faithfully has been a career highlight for me, and I am grateful for the fans' enthusiastic and overwhelming support," he said. "Much of that success is thanks to my partner in crime, Craig Mazin, our partnership with HBO, and our team at PlayStation Productions. On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog, our cast and crew, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity. We're thrilled to bring you more of The Last of Us!”
Much like Part II, The Last of Us season 2 picks up five years after the events of the original story, which saw Joel (Pedro Pascal), a hardened survivor in a Boston quarantine zone, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a teen mysteriously immune to the monster-spawning virus that destroyed the world, trek across what remains of America. They are now settled in the Jackson, Wyo., community run by Joel's sister-in-law, Maria (Rutina Wesley), but the pair's relationship is strained.
The arrival of a mysterious group, led by soldier Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), shatters this time of relative peace and sends Ellie on a mission to bring those responsible to justice. And Joel's past will come back to haunt him. In the season 1 finale, he made the decision to save Ellie from the operating table rather than allow rebel group the Fireflies to create a vaccine — a choice that will cause ripple effects.
Season 2 will consist of seven episodes, but Mazin and Druckmann previously told Entertainment Weekly they are "high-calorie, dense episodes." In terms of their larger plan for adapting Part II, which includes time jumps and POV shifts, Mazin remarked, “I think it's pretty likely that our story will extend past a season 3. How far past? I can't say. And that's not to say that there are not other stories that could be told, but this story is the one that Neil and I are telling.”
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“We have a plan,” Druckmann said. “We know what we need to do going forward, but we couldn't tell you right now exactly how many episodes or how many seasons it would take to get there.”
Season 2's cast includes Gabriel Luna as Joel's brother, Tommy; Isabela Merced as Ellie's love interest in Jackson, Dina; Young Mazino as Ellie's friend and Dina's ex, Jesse; Spencer Lord as Owen, a member of Abby's crew along with Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, and Danny Ramirez as Manny; Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, a warlord and the same character Wright played in the video games; and Catherine O’Hara in the guest-starring role of Gail, Joel's therapist in Jackson.
The premiere will kick off this Sunday, April 13, at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streaming platform Max. The new season has already received rave reviews from critics.
“It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of The Last of Us is," Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President of HBO Programming and the head of HBO Drama Series and Films, said in a statement. "Craig, Neil, [executive producer] Carolyn [Strauss], and the entire executive producer team, cast, and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up, and 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."
