HBO has announced that The Last of Us has been renewed for a third season.
In a statement to Variety alongside the renewal announcement, co-creator Craig Mazin said: “We approached Season 2 with the goal of creating something we could be proud of. 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.”
The second season of the hit HBO show is set to debut this weekend, with the first episode being broadcast in the US on Sunday night. In the UK, the show will be simulcast at 2am on Monday on Sky Atlantic.
Season 2 will consist of seven episodes, which will cover some of the second game,The Last of Us Part 2. However, creatorsNeil Druckmannand Craig Mazin have said thatit will take “one or two more seasons”before the story of the second game is complete.
The first season of the show covered the events of the first game, but The Last of Us is a substantially shorter game than The Last of Us Part 2, meaning the latter will need more seasons to cover its plot.
“It’s getting harder to make, because every episode gets big,” Craig Mazin toldVariety. “You don’t want to wait four years for a 17-episode finish, or whatever it is.”
The Last of Us season 2 adds Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Young Mazino as Jessie, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Ariela Barer as Mel, and Spencer Lord as Owen. They will star alongside the returning Pedro Pascal as Joel, and Bella Ramsay as Ellie.
Neil Druckmann recentlycast doubt on the future of its The Last of Us game franchise, telling fans not to bet on there being a third series entry. This seemingly contradicts previous instances when the creator has hinted that he has plans for athird game.
Druckmann said in April 2021 that a story outlinehad been written for a potential third game in the series, but that it wasn’t currently being developed.
And he seeminglyhinted at plans for a third Last of Us gamein January 2023, when he toldThe Hollywood Reporter: “I think there’s more story to tell.”
