The Last Of Us spoilers follow.
We’re only a few episodes into the post-apocalyptic series The Last Of Us and we’re already addicted to the story of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) journey across the US in the wake of a fungal plague that has decimated the human race.
It’s therefore great news that – just two episodes after the series launched – a second season of the tense survival drama has been ordered, and will hopefully go into production later this year.
So when can we see even more episodes of The Last Of Us, and what will happen to Ellie and Joel and those unfortunate people that have been infected and turned into gross fungal creatures? Come out from behind the sofa to read everything you need to know about The Last Of Us season two…
The Last Of Us season 2 potential release date: When will it air?
The first season of The Last Of Us is currently airing – there are nine episodes in total – and the second season has only just been confirmed, so it will be quite a while before we get to see season two's episodes.
It took around 200 days to film the first season in Canada, according to executive producer Craig Mazin via The Washington Post, and then additional months were spent editing the series and adding those extremely creepy fungi special effects. In total, it took 18 months from the date when the first scene was shot to the launch of season one on January 15, 2023.
If we look at a similar timeline for season two – bearing in mind that scripts need to be written and cast and crew put in place – even if work were to begin this week, we wouldn’t expect to see season two episodes until at least the middle of 2024.
The Last Of Us season 2 cast: Who’s in it?
This is where things get tricky, as a lot depends on how much of the plot of the first game is covered in the first season of the show.
In an interview with Consequence, Mazin confirmed that: “The first season is the events of the first game. And if you have played the game, you can tell from watching the marketing materials that we’re also covering the events of the Left Behind DLC.”
The Last Of Us: Left Behind was a downloadable expansion pack to the original game that focused on two timelines – one, set three weeks before The Last Of Us game follows Ellie with her friend Riley in an abandoned mall in Boston, and the second is set during The Last Of Us main timeline and has Ellie trying to find medical supplies for an injured Joel, while remembering her time with Riley (who is played by Euphoria’s Storm Reid in season one).
Since both the first game and the add-on are now confirmed to be featured in season one, that would lead us to believe that season two will start with some of the events of the second game, The Last Of Us Part II.
The Last Of Us Part II game does feature both Joel and Ellie, so we would expect to see the return of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in those roles. There is a five-year time jump between the games, but that would mean just a bit more grey hair for Pascal, while Bella Ramsey would be playing closer to her own age than she does in season one (she is 19 in real life, whereas season one’s Ellie is 14 years old)
The story also features Joel’s brother Tommy (played by Gabriel Luna in season one, so he’s likely to be back, too) and introduces a new main character named Abby Anderson as well as Ellie’s girlfriend Dina.
Their roles are yet to be cast, along with characters including:
• Jesse (Dina’s ex-boyfriend)
• Owen (Abby’s ex-boyfriend)
• Lev and Yara (siblings who have been denounced by the Seraphite cult, who team up with Abby)
The Last Of Us season 2 plot: What will happen?
If we assume that the second season will feature some of the events from the second game, The Last Of Us Part II, we can guess at a few things that may happen – but only read on if you want some MAJOR SPOILERS (for the game and potentially the series):
After a brief prelude, the second game jumps five years on from the events of The Last Of Us, with Joel and now 19-year-old Ellie living in Jackson, Wyoming.
It is while Joel and his brother Tommy are on a routine patrol that they encounter a woman named Abby and save her from an infected horde. They go to an outpost being used as a hideout by her group – former Fireflies who are now a militia group called the WLF (Washington Liberation Front) – and the group attack the brothers.
A series of events that we won’t spoil here lead Ellie and her girlfriend Dina to go in search of Tommy and Joel, and Ellie arrives to see Abby beat Joel to death. The story then has Tommy, Ellie and Dina set off for Seattle to hunt Abby down – a journey that puts them straight into the path of the Seraphites, a religious cult battling the WLF for control of the city.
Much more happens, of course, but the main takeaway is that – deep breath – Joel, and therefore Pedro Pascal, doesn’t make it very far into the story. It could be that the second season will focus mainly on Ellie, Dina and Abby – and possibly Tommy – with Joel only appearing in early episodes before he is killed off, or in flashbacks later on.
The Last Of Us season 2 trailer: When can I watch it?
The second season of The Last Of Us has not yet gone into production, so it will be quite some time before there is any new footage available for a trailer. Of course, as soon as there is a trailer, you’ll find it here, so do check back regularly.
The Last of Us airs on HBO in the US, and on Sky Atlantic and streaming service NOW in the UK.
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