The second season of The Last of Us begins this Sunday—but HBO has already decided this isn’t the end of the story. Following the largely glowing reviews for season two, HBO has already renewed the video game adaptation for a third season.
The series—which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, and comes from Craig Mazin and game creator Neil Druckmann—was a huge hit when it premiered in 2023, and hype for the second season is basically off the charts. At IndieWire, Ben Travers writes, “Season 2 doubles down on what it asks of its audience, unveiling a challenging narrative filled with challenging ideas — ideas people base their entire lives on, and thus ideas people may struggle to reassess.”
But there are some quibbles—and some questions about how far into the second game season two gets. The Hollywood Reporter notably uses the word “incomplete,” and an Entertainment Weekly headline says “Season 2 will only begin to adapt 2020’s The Last of Us Part II sequel game.”
In a press release, Mazin said, “We approached season two 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. We look forward to continuing the story of The Last of Us with season three!”
Last summer, Mazin was already muttering about the possibility of a fourth season to Deadline, saying “We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4.”
Mazin has also compared season two to The Empire Strikes Back, so make of that what you will. The second season of The Last of Us premieres April 13th on HBO and Max.
