If you've been looking for updates on The Last of Us season 2 since season 1 of the hit HBO show ended on March 12, series star Bella Ramsey might have just dropped the hint you were looking for.
Bella, who stars as Ellie on the show, gave fans a major clue on when season 2 of The Last of Us could potentially arrive, and things are not looking good for the impatient. According to British newspaper The Independent, Bella openly admitted "it will be a while" until season 2 hits HBO. “I think we'll probably shoot at the end of this year, beginning of next,” Bella added during an appearance on The Jonathan Ross Show on March 18. “So it'll probably be the end of 2024, early 2025.” (Yes, we are already getting Stranger Things flashbacks.)
In a short interview with Collider, Pedro Pascal, who stars as Joel alongside Bella, seemed to confirm her statement, but was even more vague. The actor said "there is a chance" production for season 2 of The Last of Us could start in late 2023, suggesting a later date is likely more plausible.
Regardless of when season 2 arrives, the writers already have a clear idea of where the series will go and who they need to tell the story. Earlier this month, series co-creator Neil Druckmann put fan speculation about Bella's potential recasting to rest and confirmed the actor will definitely return to reprise her role as Ellie, whose upcoming character arc will differ greatly from its source of inspiration.
Despite introducing some changes, season 1 of The Last of Us is a pretty faithful adaptation of Naughty Dog's 2013 video game. The Last of Us Part II, the sequel game released in 2020, featured a five-year time jump and will serve as the basis for the upcoming second season's plot — and potentially the plot of future seasons.
Though HBO has only announced the series' renewal for season 2, the series showrunners confirmed to British GQ that there's "no way" the second game could fit in just one season. "We will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct," Craig Mazin admitted, emphasizing that the changes will get even more significant as the story advances.
"There are going to be things that are going to be different, and there are things that are going to be identical," continued Mazin. "There are things that are going to be added and enriched. There are some things that are going to be flipped. Our goal remains exactly what it was for the first season, which is to deliver a show that makes fans happy. We've got an incredible returning cast. It's a daunting task. But Jesus, so was the first season. You can't make everyone happy. But we've made a lot of people happy and that's our intention to do it again."
