In the field of video game adaptations, many would put "The Last of Us" on their top three lists. It was even regarded as an example of how adaptations should be done. Fans have been waiting for an announcement as to when the second season will be released, and we finally have a year for it.
Bittersweet News
The good news is that we now have an estimate on when we can expect to see Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey back on screen. The bad news is that it will not be for a while. It has been confirmed that the show will be released in 2025.
The show has experienced some delays due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, but now that a fair deal has been reached, production will continue. According to showrunner Craig Mazin, filming will begin on February 12, 2024, as per Collider.
Since the show is based on a video game, we already know what we can expect from the show. The question now is which part of the games will be included in the second season. The actress behind Ellie has already confirmed one aspect that will be in season 2.
Ramsey expressed her excitement for her character's love interest, particularly Dina, which was also shown in The Last of Us II. While she already had one with Riley in season 1, Ellie and Dina's will be a whole storyline and not just an episode.
One that fans might be dreading is the introduction of the antagonist in the second game, Abby Anderson. If the showrunners decided to stick to the plot of the video game, show fans might find themselves sobbing by the end of the TV show's second season.
Anderson's introduction is already confirmed as well, given that an actress has already been cast for the character. However, her identity still remains undisclosed for now. There are already a lot of theories as to who it is, but with production starting soon, we might not be guessing for long.
Will It End in Season 2?
Seeing as the show has been a huge success, fans might want "The Last of Us" to continue on beyond just two seasons as it adapts two video games. Nothing is certain for now, especially with Craig Mazin not wanting to go beyond the existing source material.
Mazin stated that he doesn't "want to be in the position of spinning plates to just spool out season after season of stuff." The voice actor behind Joel in the video games, Troy Baker, did note that it might take a couple of seasons to cover the events on both game titles.
That was evident in the first season, as fans pointed out that it seemed rushed and that it missed a lot of important scenes from the game. Baker suggested that it might take three or four seasons to "do the overall story justice," as per NME.
Viewers of the show will probably be okay with that, especially since we'll see more of the father-daughter duo of Ellie and Joel. Plus, it puts the tragic ending that game fans already know about further away.
