The Last of Us has “more of a headstart than some may think” on season 2

Gabriel Luna played Tommy in the first season of The Last of Us, which became a huge hit when it premiered on HBO this past January, quickly being hailed as the best video game adaptation ever. Tommy is the younger brother of Joel (Pedro Pascal), but has done a better job of holding onto his humanity in the midst of the zombie apocalypse.

We first meet Tommy in the premiere, when he’s a sunny guy working alongside Joel as a contractor. Then we skip forward 20 years and he’s nowhere to be seen. We hear from Joel that Tommy joined the Fireflies, a revolutionary group. Joel doesn’t sound too pleased about it, but Luna thinks there’s more to it.

“I think that when Joel says that [Firefly leader] Marlene turned Tommy against him, I think there’s a little bit of jealousy in that,” Luna told GQ. “In my mind and [Marlene actor Merle Dandridge’s] mind, we decided that Tommy and Marlene had a little thing going and that a lot of her influence was not only her strength as a leader, but also her beauty as a woman and her strength as a woman. And that adds another interesting dynamic as to why Tommy and Joel split and what Tommy needs in this world. Tommy needs what we all need, and he hasn’t shut himself off to the need for love and family and propagating the species.”

The Last of Us star Gabriel Luna thinks Joel was “jealous” of Marlene

When Tommy and Joel finally reunite, we learn that Tommy is married and has a child on the way. Things are looking up for him…but season 2 is set to adapt The Last of Us: Part II, and if you’ve played that game, you know things get bleak. Luna certainly does.

“You know, it’s the Dark Knight quote: You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain,” Luna mused. “Not that Tommy ever becomes a villain, but you certainly live long enough for this cycle of vengeance to repeat itself again. I’ve had some discussions with [showrunner] Craig [Mazin] about the potential of what we see, you know, of Tommy’s experience.

"[W]e’ve been talking about season two since we were making season one. There was a lot of belief in the story and there was a lot of belief in the team we assembled. We may have more of a headstart than some may think. But as far as the details—not my department."

We don’t know when exactly The Last of Us season 2 begins filming, but Luna did say that he’s preparing by growing out his hair “in all its glory for Tommy and season two.” Hopefully we’ll hear specifics soon.

Tommy will undergo a “de-evolution” in The Last of Us season 2

So far as teasing season 2 goes, we’ll leave you with what he told Variety:

"There’s a lot of peaks and there’s some deep, deep valleys. As much as Tommy is an evolved person, and he’s evolving, there’s certainly a de-evolution that happens in ‘Part II.’ Which is probably the extent I can say about it."

See you in (hopefully) late 2024.

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