'The Last of Us' season 2: Release date, cast, trailer, plot and more

It didn't take long for HBO to greenlight "The Last of Us" season 2. The first season was a massive success not only for the prestige TV network but for the entire genre of video game adaptations.

Thankfully, we don't have long to wait, because "The Last of Us" season 2 will be released on April 13 on HBO and Max at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the game and executive producer of the series, was effusive in his response to the pick-up news. "I’m humbled, honored, and frankly overwhelmed that so many people have tuned in and connected with our retelling of Joel and Ellie’s journey. The collaboration with Craig Mazin, our incredible cast & crew, and HBO exceeded my already high expectations. Now we have the absolute pleasure of being able to do it again with season two! On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog and PlayStation, thank you!"

Speaking of Mazin, who already had a hit HBO show in "Chernobyl," he too was overjoyed at the news. "I’m so grateful to Neil Druckmann and HBO for our partnership, and I’m even more grateful to the millions of people who have joined us on this journey. The audience has given us the chance to continue, and as a fan of the characters and world Neil and Naughty Dog created, I couldn’t be more ready to dive back in."

"The Last of Us" season 2 reviews are in too, with critics branding the series "incomplete" but "gripping." The second season is currently rated 93% on Rotten Tomatoes from over 40 reviews. Expectations are certainly high for the next chapter and it seems as though we'll be in for a ride.

So below, we're going to get into everything related to "The Last of Us" season 2, from the release date and casting announcements to the plot and more.

When is 'The Last of Us' season 2 premiere date?

As already mentioned, "The Last of Us" season 2 will premiere on HBO and Max on Sunday, April 13 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. HBO officially announced the release date on February 19, and it confirms the April 2025 release window that was teased back in January.

That release window also came with two first-look photos — one of Pedro Pascal as Joel and the other as Bella Ramsey's Ellie. Judging by the images alone, Joel (with his longer hair, signifying the five-year time jump that fans can anticipate this season) appears to be in the party scene, while Ellie looks considerably angry with a pointed gun. Maybe this will take place during her travels with her purported love interest Dina (played by Isabela Merced).

We also know that season 2 will consist of seven episodes, which is a drop compared to the first season (which had nine episodes). But in an interview with Deadline, Craig Mazin, one of “The Last of Us” TV show’s co-showrunners, said: "The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons. When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”

The first episode of the second season will have a one-hour runtime and will be entitled “Future Days,” a reference to the 2013 Pearl Jam song of the same name, a track that the character of Joel Miller performs for Ellie on his guitar in the opening of the sequel game.

That sweet moment will seemingly be replicated in the show's second season, as we see Joel (played by Pedro Pascal in the television series) teaching Ellie (Bella Ramsey) how to play the song on acoustic guitar in the season's first official trailer.

Who is in 'The Last of Us' season 2 cast?

Warning: Spoilers for "The Last of Us" game and TV franchise to follow

"The Last of Us" is led by Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, one of the American survivors of a global pandemic caused by the Cordyceps fungus. In this post-apocalyptic world, he is charged with the care of Ellie Williams (Bella Ramsey), a teenager immune to the effects of the fungal infection. A militia faction known as the Fireflies is trying to get Ellie to a facility in Colorado where they can synthesize a cure from her blood/body/etc.

The first season ends with Joel killing the Fireflies in Colorado after he learns that synthesizing the cure will kill Ellie. We now arrive at season 2 with Ellie, after being lied to by Joel, believing that the attempt to find a cure was unsuccessful. They've now returned to Jackson, Wyoming, where Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) has joined a thriving community in the American wilderness.

But Joel's actions have consequences, and they're coming in season 2. HBO has officially cast Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a major character in the second game. Abby's father was killed in Joel's raid on the Colorado facility and was the surgeon set to operate on Ellie. Now, Abby is looking for revenge and will be a main character going forward.

Joining Abby on her quest for revenge are Manny (played by Danny Ramirez), Mel (Ariela Barer), Nora (Tati Gabrielle) and Owen (Spencer Lord). These four worked closely with Abby's father at the Fireflies' compound in Colorado and Owen was even Abby's former boyfriend. Expect a lot of screen time showing these five together.

The day after Dever was cast as Abby, it was announced that Young Mazino (most well-known from "Beef") would be joining the show as Jesse. Jesse is one of Ellie's friends in Jackson and leads one of the community's patrol groups. While potentially not as big as Abby in season 2's story, he's still an important character to cast.

One character that will be as big as Abby is Dina, who will be portrayed by actress Isabela Merced, who was in "Madame Web" and "Alien: Romulus". Dina is also one of the members of the Jackson community and at one point is romantically involved with Jesse. But for most of the second season, she'll be Ellie's romantic partner. She, Ellie and Jesse will all be working closely together in the fulfillment of Ellie's quest that occupies most of Ellie's storyline in the second video game. That same quest will likely be the main focus of season 2, so expect plenty of screen time for the trio.

Merced actually spoke to Collider recently (April 29) about her role in the show and her instant connection with series star Bella Ramsey. She said: "I’m so excited for people to see my chemistry with Bella. We have so much chemistry. From the first day, it was there. There’s no work to be done. I really respect Bella. I just saw 'Catherine Called Birdy' and Bella has such range and just honesty about their work. I’m learning so much. I’m very honored to be here."

Another notable newcomer is comedy legend Catherine O'Hara, who will play Joel's probing therapist, Gail, an original character to the TV series. As for the rapport between therapist and patient, O'Hara told Entertainment Weekly, "I have an odd relationship with Pedro's character. You don't quite know why she's got...well, she's got this edge to her, but it makes for some weird, good dark comedy, I think. So it's there. I never want to deny the gift of humor."

On May 24, it was confirmed that Jeffrey Wright would reprise his role as Isaac in season 2. He also played the same character in the second game. Isaac is the leader of the Washington Liberation Front and was first introduced alongside the rest of Abby's group.

As for the new cast members, Ramsey revealed they came away impressed from their first meeting with the actors. In an interview with GamesRadar, Ramsey said "I’m incredibly happy with who has been cast. It’s exciting for me. I’m happy to have a whole new bunch of people come and join the family. It’s gonna be a lot of fun."

Here's everyone we know will be in "The Last of Us" season 2:

• Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a middle-aged survivor in the post-apocalyptic U.S. and father figure to Ellie.
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie Williams, a teenage girl whose body potentially holds the key to curing the world, something that (seemingly) only Joel knows at this point.
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy Miller, a member of a survivors' community in Jackson, Wyoming, and Joel's brother.
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abigail "Abby" Anderson, the daughter of a surgeon murdered by Joel, turned soldier on a quest for revenge.
• Young Mazino as Jesse, a member of the Jackson community's patrol and one of Ellie's friends.
• Isabela Merced as Dina, a member of the Jackson community and Ellie's love interest in season 2.
• Danny Ramirez as Manny Alvarez, a close friend of Abby's and a former member of the Fireflies.
• Ariela Barer as Mel, a medic who worked with Abby's father and a former member of the Fireflies.
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora Harris, a medical officer who worked with Abby's father and a former member of the Fireflies.
• Spencer Lord as Owen Moore, a former member of the Fireflies and Abby's ex-boyfriend.
• Catherine O’Hara as Gail, Joel's therapist
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front

Who are 'The Last of Us' season 2 directors?

Deadline has already confirmed the full list of directors who will each direct one episode of season 2. Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, who are the co-creators and co-showrunners of "The Last of Us," will both serve as directors this season. See the full list below:

• Episode 1: Craig Mazin ("The Last of Us," "Chernobyl")
• Episode 2: Mark Mylod ("Succession")
• Episode 3: Peter Hoar ("The Last of Us" season 1, episode 3 "Long, Long Time")
• Episode 4: Kate Herron ("Loki")
• Episode 5: Stephen Williams ("Watchmen")
• Episode 6: Neil Druckmann ("The Last of Us" TV show and video game series)
• Episode 7: Nina Lopez-Corrado ("Perry Mason")

What will happen in 'The Last of Us' season 2?

"The Last of Us" season 2 will pick up five years from when we last saw it, after Joel made the impossible decision to potentially sacrifice all humanity in favor of saving Ellie.

For the past half-decade, Joel and Elli have been living in a survivors' settlement in Jackson, Wyoming, alongside Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) and new characters like Bella's love interest Dina. You can get sneak peeks of those characters and their Wyoming-set life in a batch of new stills, which were recently released by HBO.

The official "TLOU" season 2 synopsis reads: “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

And though we have reasons why we'd like to see "The Last of Us" season 2 needs to stick to the game script, Mazin and Co. have already warned fans to expect "deviations" from the plotline of the original video game series.

'The Last of Us' season 2 trailers and photos

On January 6, a short trailer for "The Last of Us" season 2 was released, and we finally get to see more of Abby as she roams an abandoned hallway. The trailer also includes shots of Dina and Ellie dancing, and several tense scenes that include the infecte:

The Last Of Us Season 2 | April 2025 | Max - YouTube

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Near the beginning of February 2025, Entertainment Weekly shared a bunch of new images of “The Last of Us” season 2, including Joel looking disappointed, Ellie and Jessie at the party, and Abby out in the snow with her group. Since we’re getting closer to the release window of April 2025, we’re bound to get more glimpses into the highly anticipated second season, and my excitement is definitely growing.

Check out the images in Entertainment Weekly's post:

On March 9, Max dropped another trailer for "The Last of Us" season 2. My colleague wrote about how the new trailer shows off one of their favorite moment from the second game. This includes a shot of Dina and Ellie dancing together at the party before the inciting incident occurs later on (staying spoiler free, folks).

The trailer opens with a scene of Ellie and Joel walking through the woods, evoking their bond from season 1, before transitioning into more intense action sequences. A swarm of infected pounds on Jackson’s doors, clickers emerge from the snow, and Joel torches a massive infected (looks like a bloater) with a flamethrower.

The final moments of the trailer take a darker turn, showing Ellie looking distressed as she tells Joel, "You swore." This line is particularly significant since, in the second game, the story initially leaves players uncertain about what Joel has told Ellie and how much she knows about the events at the hospital.

Interestingly, the conversation between Ellie and Joel in the trailer appears to take place in Jackson rather than during the aftermath of Joel’s violent actions, signaling a notable shift from the game. While this isn’t entirely unexpected (given that "The Last of Us" showrunners have already hinted at multiple deviations from the source material) it could have major implications for how the story unfolds in season 2.

The Last of Us Season 2 | Official Trailer | Max - YouTube

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Max also released some new character posters for "The Last of Us" season 2 just before the premiere. Not much is given away but we do get a rundown of who will be in the next chapter. You can see the posters in Max's threat on X:

HBO also dropped fresh new stills from "The Last of Us" season 2 in late March. These images showcase Joel and Ellie navigating snowy terrain on horseback and honing their shooting skills in Jackson, Wyoming.

The images also introduce a new character, Gail, played by "Schitt’s Creek" icon Catherine O’Hara. Described as a therapeutic presence in Joel’s life, she plays a key role in helping him confront his past.

Another still captures a touching moment between Bella Ramsey’s Ellie and Isabela Merced’s Dina, sharing a tender slow dance inside a Jackson barn—an iconic scene that fans of "The Last of Us Part II" will instantly recognize.

Additionally, the images confirm that Dina won’t just be interacting with Ellie. She also shares a moment with Joel, accompanying him on a horseback ride.

We have a short clip from "The Last of Us" season 2 which sees Ellie and Tommy in a possible flashback. Tommy warns Ellie not to talk about her immunity while Ellie jokingly shouts about it in the wilderness.

Will we get a third season of 'The Last Of Us'?

While the show's not been officially announced just yet, it looks like we're going to get two further seasons of "The Last Of Us."

HBO exec Francesca Orsi told Deadline: "We don't have a complete or final plan, but I think it's looking like four seasons. I wouldn't want to confirm that, but it's looking like this season and then two more seasons after this and we're done."

That timeline was seemingly confirmed by co-creator Craig Mazin in a recent interview with PEOPLE. "Neil and I really are focused on telling the story that's there, and it will come to an end, whether it is in season 3 or season 4,” Mazin said, adding that the team has no plans to extend Joel and Ellie's storylines passed the content of the original video game series.

“I’m not sure how I can top this,” Mazin continued. “So if there’s more or less of this to happen, other people will carry it forward."

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