When is The Last of Us season 2 release date? The TV series adaptation of the Naughty Dog video game The Last of Us became one of the biggest hits of 2023 on the small screen. So far, there’s been heartbreaking deaths, horrific gore, and more zombies than you can shake a sadly useless stick at.
The Last of Us season 1 followed Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) on a treacherous journey through the aftermath of a global surge in infections caused by the Cordyceps fungus. Needless to say, we know you can’t wait for the best TV series of the year to return. Here, we scratch your zombie itch as we delve far beyond the QZ to find out everything we can about the new season.
The Last of Us season 2 release date speculation
The Last of Us season 2 will likely be released at the beginning of 2025 since filming is set to start in early 2024.
Clickers are officially making a comeback. HBO boss Casey Bloys announced during a press conference (via Variety) that the horror series will enter production in a few months – meaning that if we factor in post-production time – a 2025 release date is extremely likely.
We know that The Last of Us season 2 is a priority for the studio, given the massive positive response the first season received. The first season won 24 Emmy awards, so fans can rest easy.
That said…while the new season is a priority for the studio, we know that leading man Pedro Pascal is currently preoccupied with Gladiator 2. The Actors Strike put a hold on any and all productions, but things are set to resume once again. According to reports, the Ridley Scott movie is taking precedent for Pascal, so he won’t be able to start shooting The Last of Us until that’s wrapped.
Regardless, The Last of Us season 2 is definitely heading our way, despite us still waiting on a firm release date confirmation. Stay tuned for updates.
Who is in The Last of Us season 2 cast?
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are almost certain to return as Joel and Ellie.
Craig Mazin confirmed at a press conference (via Variety) that Ramsey will indeed be back, despite the time jump in the second game’s story. If, as we expect, The Last of Us season 2 follows the plot of the second game, then Joel’s brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) will be back, too.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the all-important role of Abby from The Last of Us Part II has already been cast. This was further hinted at in an interview with showrunner Craig Mazin, who said [via The Hollywood Reporter]:
“Look, Abby was the first role that we wanted to tackle. We’ve got a pretty good track record of making major cast announcements and people going, “Really?” which will probably continue. So people may disagree, but I think we got it right so far, and the audience seems to feel we got it right, and the Academy seems to feel we got it right.”
Obviously, the nature of a story like this does not lend itself to a big and long-running ensemble. Characters don’t tend to last very long once the infected turn up. Often, those cruel showrunners give us just long enough to fall in love with characters like Riley, Tess, or Bill and Frank before their time cruelly ends.
Here’s the potential The Last of Us season 2 cast list:
- Pedro Pascal as Joel
- Bella Ramsey as Ellie
- Gabriel Luna as Tommy
- Rutina Wesley as Maria
What will The Last of Us season 2 be about?
We don’t know The Last of Us season 2 plot for sure, but it is likely to follow the story of the video game sequel The Last of Us Part II.
Co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin suggested that season 2 won’t be the end of The Last of Us, saying in April 2023 that the show will be “around for a while” yet and it might take more than one more season to tell the story of The Last of Us Part II in the wake of The Last of Us episode 9.
We don’t want to spoil too much of the plot of The Last of Us Part II for those who have not played the game, but it features a four-year time jump from the end of the first game and explores the clashes between Joel and Ellie and a militia group of former Fireflies led by a character called Abby.
We can also expect more terrifying beasties, with Mazin and Druckmann revealing they have big plans for new Infected. After all, we’re almost certainly going to see the Rat King, right?
Is there a Last of Us season 2 trailer?
There is no The Last of Us season 2 trailer just yet, and there won’t be until late 2024 at the earliest.
Depending on how long filming takes, we doubt any promotional material will be released until a good chunk of time passes for editing. I mean, all those zombies and making a wasteland look good takes time, you know?
But if you’ve got a strong stomach and you want to delve deeper into the world of The Last of Us, take a look at how the show’s hugely talented VFX team created the Infected. If you’re eating lunch, it might be worth waiting before you watch this one.
Where can I watch The Last of Us season 2?
The Last of Us season 2 will be available to watch on HBO and to stream via Max.
In the UK, Sky’s ongoing partnership with HBO means that The Last of Us season 2 will be available via Sky Atlantic and NOW. While we wait for the new season, the entirety of The Last of Us season 1 is on Max. Trust us, it’s well worth diving back in for a binge.
For more quality picks while we wait for The Last of Us, here is our list of the best drama series and the best zombie movies of all time.
How many episodes will be in The Last of Us season 2?
We’d expect The Last of Us season 2 to have between eight and 12 episodes.
The first season ran for a slightly odd nine episodes, so the second run could definitely vary from that. As mentioned above, the writers have said that there is tons of story to cover in the upcoming chapter.
So, until we get confirmation that season 3 is going ahead, that means we expect more episodes this time around. Keep your eyes on this guide for updates!
So that’s everything we know about The Last of Us season 2 for now. For more, find out which video game Jack Black thinks could make an even better TV series and learn why Joel is not the real villain of The Last of Us, despite everything. To see what other small screen gems await, check out our guide to the Halo season 2 release date.
In the meantime, check out our lists of the best video game movies and the best horror movies – as well as the best streaming services to watch all of these and the new movies coming in 2023. Finally, you’ve got to check out our list of the best movies ever made.