'The Last of Us' season 2 release date speculation, cast, filming updates 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. 

Neil Druckmann, co-creator of the game and executive producer of the series, was effusive in his response to the 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."

Well, we're ready to dive back in too. 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 other news and more.

• Read more: I can’t wait for The Last of Us season 2 to air but I’m also dreading it — here’s why

'The Last of Us' season 2 release date

As of May 15, it has been confirmed by Max's official Twitter (X) account that "The Last of Us" season 2 is in production (even though we technically knew that). And it is coming to the streaming platform sometime in spring 2025. This is so that it qualifies to the 2025 Emmy Awards, which means the show will come out between March and May.

We also have two photos, one of Pedro Pascal as Joel and the other as Bella Ramsey's Ellie. Judging by these images alone, Joel (with his longer hair) 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 Dina (Isabela Merced). 

Recently we also got confirmation 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 “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 Last of Us' season 2 filming updates

Fans have started sharing photos of what they think are filming locations in British Columbia, Canada and hype has officially started building.

For his part, showrunner Craig Mazin has poured a bit of cold water on speculation caused by these filming locations. In an episode of his podcast Scriptnotes (h/t Game Rant), Mazin revealed that most fan theories about season 2 have been incorrect, which is impressive given that this show is literally based on a video game that's been out for years. "I wish I could put my arm around each one of them and say ‘No.’ Most of the theories are incorrect, some of them are half ways correct, some of the conjecture is like 28% correct, but I do enjoy it all."

It's not all bad news though. As of April 13, episodes 1 and 2 are reportedly both finished, according to The Last of Us News. More filming will also take place in downtown Nanaimo in May 2024. The production team was last seen on April 29 setting up in Diana Krall Plaza for a five-week shoot. 

UPDATE (July 1): The Last of Us News also posted on Twitter (X) that season 2 will wrap up filming next month in August. Not long ago they were filming scenes with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey at a church. It was also reported that there was an unidentified person on set with a guitar and that "it is the same location where they filmed the Jackson dance." Around the same time, casting was potentially underway for the Seraphites (a group of extremely brutal people). An open casting call in Vancouver was looking for “men of all ethnicities, aged 18 to 50, bald or willing to shave their heads” for filming an undisclosed production in August. 

UPDATE (July 9): Not long after the previous update, we have a new image from The Last of Us News that reveals the Seraphites (also known as the "Scars"), although their presence in the show has not yet been confirmed. Considering this group plays a huge role in the story, it's almost guaranteed that they'll be in the show, especially when Abby is introduced.

Not only that, but there are new photos of Bella Ramsey and Isabela Merced on the set of "The Last of Us" season 2, which give us a better look at their characters (thanks to @LauraDreaming on X). While they don't give much away in terms of filming locations/scenes, we can see the iconic tattoo on Ellie's arm. The setting itself is also very impressive. 

UPDATE (September 10): It's time to celebrate, because "The Last of Us" season 2 finally finished filming on August 23. The crew got together for a celebratory wrap party, marking a major milestone in bringing another season of his world to life. It seems as though this show is on track to be released in early 2025. 

'The Last of Us' season 2 cast

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

Currently, "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, Mel, Nora and Owen. 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. Danny Ramirez, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle and Spencer Lord have been cast as Manny, Mel, Nora and Owen respectively (h/t The Hollywood Reporter).

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, and HBO announced her casting the day after it announced that Mazino would be playing Jesse. Isabela Merced, who is in "Madame Web" and "Alien: Romulus", will be playing Dina in season 2.

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.

Apparently, the cast has already met and Ramsey came away impressed from their first meeting. 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."

Merced actually spoke to Collider recently (April 29) about her role in the show and her instant connection with 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." 

Catherine O'Hara was in talks to play a character named Gail according to rumors on Twitter (X) and shortly after that rumor was let loose into the world Variety confirmed the casting announcement. There are also rumors that she could play the Seraphite Prophet, a messianic figure in the second video game who people (a cult named the "Seraphites") made shrines for throughout Seattle. However, the character she will be playing is still top secret.

On May 24, it was confirmed that Jeffrey Wright will 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 with the rest of Abby's group. 

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 in an unknown role, possibly Joel's therapist
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, the leader of the Washington Liberation Front

'The Last of Us' season 2 directors confirmed

While we don't know how many episodes season 2 will be, Deadline has already confirmed the full list of directors who will direct at least one episode of season 2.

Note: it is not yet confirmed how many episodes each director will take on, just that each of these directors will helm at least one episode. However, there are rumors that there will only be seven episodes this season, which would mean each of these directors would get one episode each. See the full list below: 

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

'The Last of Us' season 2 plot

I don't plan to get into many spoilers here. If you want spoilers, read my opinion piece on why ‘The Last of Us’ season 2 needs to stick to the game script. The second game in the series has some powerful moments that I both don't want to spoil and don't want the showrunners to deviate significantly from.

However, I will share one tidbit. It looks like Greenplace Market, which is the site of a notable action scene from the game, will be making an appearance in season 2. This is based on leaked set photos on Reddit that show the reconstructed setting from the video game.

'The Last of Us' season 2 trailers

Not long ago, Max announced 19 new and upcoming shows by releasing teaser trailers online, and amongst them was "The Last of Us" season 2. 

We got a significant look into what to expect from this season, including our first looks as new cast members Jeffrey Wright and Catherine O'Hara. While there are still questions about what exactly season 2 will cover, there's no question that this season will maintain the show's incredibly dark tone. 

Check out the brief preview below:

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