The second season of The Last of Us is around the corner, and it's going to be a big one. The first season of this post-apocalyptic zombie drama adapted the first video game in Naughty Dog's series, introducing us to father-daughter surrogate super-team Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey). The second season is based on The Last of Us Part II, and will expand things significantly. Get ready for new characters, new conflicts, and twists so shocking you won't know what to do with yourself.
The Last of Us Part II is a bigger game than the first, and the second season of the show won't cover all of it. The story will continue into season 3, but recently showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin have suggested that it could go even further than that. Speaking to Deadline, HBO executive Francesca Orsi added more detail: “We don’t have a complete or final plan, but I think it’s looking like four seasons," she said. "I wouldn’t want to confirm that, but it’s looking like this season and then two more seasons after this and we’re done.”
At the moment, The Last of Us Part II is the most recent game in the franchise, although rumors about Part III have swirled for years. Druckmann and Mazin have said that the TV show won't go beyond the games, which means that the next two to three seasons of The Last of Us will limit themselves to the events of the second game.
And like Orsi said, that's probably where the show will end...although, if Naughty Dog puts out The Last of Us Part III, who's to say the series couldn't continue? Frankly, I wouldn't mind if the show just kept going past the events of Part II, provided that Druckmann — the creator of the original game series as well as a producer on the TV show — has a good idea. But that'll be a question for later.
Right now, we know that The Last of Us season 2 drops in April, probably on Sunday, April 13. I like the vague way Orsi described what's coming:
"There’s certain elements in terms of the various factions that are competing for survival that reveal themselves as a really intriguing survivalist group, and I think they just have a quality to them that feels distinct in how they present it. There’s a certain way [the show] is presenting them in wardrobe and makeup that feels really different than the average person."
She's trying not to give away spoilers. People who have played the games know why. For everyone else: buckle up.
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