HBO’s live-action adaptation of the Naughty Dog action-adventure game, The Last of Us, has had its second season officially confirmed.
The Last of Us season two was officially confirmed on January 27, 2023. The second season will recap the events of the second game in the series, much like the first season is taking on the debut game’s story. Naughty Dog and HBO both seem pleased with the show’s large-scale success and have decided to return to the post-apocalyptic America of the show. The first season is expected to cover the entirety of the first game from start to finish, but it’s possible that the second season would take time to go off-path. Here’s everything we know about The Last of Us season two.
The Last of Us season two confirmed by HBO
The Last of Us season two has been officially confirmed by HBO, the video game adaptation has been renewed for another go. The first season has been on pace to cover the entirety of the main plot of the first game. This means that fans who are enjoying Pedro Pascal’s Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey’s Ellie Williams are guaranteed to get a little bit more. The first season has been said by lead creatives to be meant to fill out Naughty Dog’s first installment in the series and stop there. This means that the HBO drama has a choice of whether to jump straight into the second game or slow down the narrative and fill in some of the blanks.
What will The Last of Us season two be about?
Spoiler warning for the events of the first two The Last of Us games.
The second season is expected to cover the events of the second game in the series, but that’s not necessarily what it has to cover. The HBO adaptation has already garnered great praise for some of the narrative divergences it has made from the video game, and it’s possible the network would want to hold onto a hit show. The first season can be expected to end where the first game does, with Joel choosing to destroy the Fireflies’ vaccine effort to save Ellie instead. The two of them then disappear to join a small settlement and avoid attention from FEDRA, the Federal Emergency and Disaster Response Agency, and the Fireflies.
The second game picks up years later with Ellie as a young adult, and Joel an even older and more grizzled version of himself. From here, however, Joel promptly dies and Ellie is set on a revenge quest. Given the success of the show, which has already gained praise for knowing when to diverge from the source material, it’s possible HBO would want to flesh out the years that disappear between the games.
Otherwise it would likely match the events of the second game, including Joel’s death and Ellie’s journey. After that, a third season would have to follow the events of a possible third game that has been discussed.
