The Last of Us season 2: what we know about the hit HBO Max show's return
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission.
The Last of Us season 2: key information
- No release date revealed
- Not expected to arrive until early 2025
- Filming began in February and will supposedly finish in mid-August
- Key cast members set to return
- New cast members revealed in January and February
- Will tell part of the second video game's story
- Rest of The Last of Us Part II's plot will be covered in season 3, which hasn't been announced yet
- Will contain story beats points not seen in the games
The Last of Us season 2 is reaching its endgame – well, from a filming perspective, anyway. Reports suggest principal photography will wrap on August 21 so, if you're reading this guide after that date, we're hoping it has so we can begin the countdown to its release.
While we wait for an official launch date to be confirmed by HBO, what do we know about The Last of Us' second chapter? In this article, you'll find out more about which platforms it'll debut on – Max (US), Sky/Now TV (UK), and Binge (Australia) – as well its confirmed cast, potential storylines, and more.
Full spoilers follow for The Last of Us season 1 and Naughty Dog's videogame series of the same name. Potential spoilers for season 2 of one of the best Max shows are also incoming.
The Last of Us season 2 release date: what we know
The Last of Us season 2 doesn't have a release date, but its shooting schedule appears to nearing its end. Filming began in early February and, according to the Directors Guild of Canada website, principal photography will wrap on August 21. Unfortunately, we won't see the show's next installment before 2024 ends. There'll be a lengthy post-production phase to complete once filming is done, so it'll be sometime in early 2025 before it's with us.
Our prediction? A January or February 2025 release window isn't out of the question. HBO tends to release one of its big-budget shows after the turn of a new year, which it did with The Last of Us' first season and True Detective: Night Country in January 2022 and January 2023 respectively. Unless season 2 isn't ready, or if HBO opts to release something else sooner, The Last of Us' sophomore outing seems like a good bet to start 2025 with a bang, in our view.
The Last of Us season 2 trailer: is there one?
No, but The Last of Us season 2's first footage was broadcast as part of a Max sizzle reel trailer that highlighted its forthcoming lineup of thrilling HBO shows. The first-look footage comes almost three months after the first images for The Last of Us' second season were revealed.
Truthfully, there isn't much to glean from it. We do, though, get good looks at Pedro Pascal's Joel conversing with Catherine O'Hara's unnamed character as he tells her "I saved her" – "her" being Ellie (Bella Ramsey) – in The Last of Us season 1 finale. There are also very brief glimpses of Ellie running from a Clicker in an abandoned train, Jeffrey Wright's Isaac Dixon pulling a gun on someone, Isabela Merced's Dina holding up a lamp to something, and Kaitlyn Dever's Abby trapped until some metal fencing, which seems to be a carbon copy scene from early on in The Last of Us Part II.
Satisfying as it is to see said footage, we're desperate for an actual trailer to be released online. We don't expect one, however, until October or November 2024 – and that's only if season 2 is due to air in January or February next year.
The Last of Us season 2 confirmed cast
Here's the cast for The Last of Us season 2 so far, including a number of confirmed and reported hires who'll play major characters seen in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II:
Pedro Pascal as Joel
Bella Ramsey as Ellie
Gabriel Luna as Tommy
Kaitlyn Dever as Abby
Young Mazino as Jesse
Isabela Merced as Dina
Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
Danny Ramirez as Manny
Tati Gabrielle as Nora
Ariela Barer as Mel
Spencer Lord as Owen
Catherine O'Hara as TBC
The first three actors reprise their roles from the show's first season, and they'll be joined in the major player category by No One Will Save You's Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, the second game's deuteragonist and primary antagonist of season 2 (and likely season 3). Dever is joined on the newcomers front by Beef star Young Mazino, who will portray one of Ellie's friends Jesse and Alien: Romulus' Isabela Merced as another of Ellie's companions (and girlfriend) Dina.
O'Hara's involvement was confirmed by HBO in February, though there's no word on the identity of her character. Wright was also revealed to be part of proceedings by HBO in May; the Marvel voice actor tapped to portray Isaac Dixon, leader of the Washington Liberation Front and a key ally of Abby's in The Past of Us Part II.
Further cast reveals – one not confirmed by HBO yet, though – were unearthed by Deadline in March, with Ramirez, Gabrielle, Barer, and Lord all reportedly signing on for supporting roles. The quartet will play other members of the Washington Liberation Front who were also seen in The Last of Us Part II.
The Last of Us season 2 plot speculation
Major spoilers follow for The Last of Us season 1 and Naughty Dog video game The Last of Us Part II.
Story details are thin on the ground but, based on The Last of Us Part II, plus what happened in the season 1 finale, we've got a good idea of the storylines that season 2 will focus on. We'll refrain from giving away any major spoilers from the second game – we're not that heartless – but there are some spoiler-less aspects we can discuss.
Firstly, season 2 won't be as long as its predecessor was. As we reported in June, co-showrunner Craig Mazin revealed The Last of Us' next chapter will only have seven episodes – Mazin saying season 2's "natural breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes". Considering he and co-creator Neil Druckman plan to tell The Last of Us Part II's story across two seasons, that seems as good a reason as any to make the forthcoming installment shorter.
As for how much time has passed between the season 1 finale and season 2's premiere, The Last of Us Part II is set five years after the first game, so expect a similar time jump in the TV adaptation. Joel and Ellie have moved back to the Wyoming camp to be with Joel’s brother Tommy, too, which is where season 2 will likely begin.
However, things won't remain rosy between the pair. In season 1 episode 9, Joel decided against telling Ellie what actually happened at the Fireflies camp – i.e. that they were going to kill her in order to develop a cure for the Cordyceps infection. Ellie is completely immune to the disease, which is why the Fireflies were so keen to get their hands on her.
When Joel finds out about their real plan, he massacres them to save Ellie's life. It's an understandable decision, especially in light of what happened to his own daughter Sarah in season 1's opening episode. Still, he's seemingly consigned humanity to continue its fight against the infection with his selfish actions and, as evidenced by the first-look footage, he's still feeling guilty about not coming clean to Ellie five years earlier.
Elsewhere, there are new intruders looking to avenge deaths from season 1, and one specific event will culminate in a catastrophic and shocking death (if you know, you know). Other remaining characters will have to forge new alliances, there’s a new religious cult on the scene – the Seraphites – for Ellie and company to deal with, a new ex-Fireflies militia force called the Washington Liberation Front, and another terrifying group who enslave people called the Rattlers. All in all, our heroes are in for a stressful, violent, and emotional sequel season.
"It’s darker," Ramsey told Vanity Fair in June 2023. "It’s really a story about revenge, and a continuation from the first season about the dangers of unconditional love."
If that sounds like season 2 will ignore the Infected in favor of human-on-human action, don't fret. Speaking to Variety last March, Mazin and Druckmann said of the Infected – whose design was inspired by bean sprouts, according to the show's VFX animation supervisor – confirmed there'll be a greater variety of flesh-hungry monsters for our heroes and villains to worry about this season.
In much the same way as season 1 expanded on the franchise's universe and characters, its follow-up will do likewise. Previously, Druckmann told TechRadar that "we couldn't have told this story in the game", the TV adaptation's timeline change was made to "help make the story more real", and the show's third episode allowed it to "go in a different direction" to what plays out in the games.
So, there's a precedent for Naughty Dog, HBO, and Sony Pictures Television (the show's three production companies) to make changes where necessary. Chatting to Deadline, Druckmann said the show's executive team is playing around with how much might change in the TV adaptation's next entry, teasing: "The moment-to-moment beats and characters, they might stay the same, they might change. We will do what needs to happen to that story as it transfers from one medium to another."
Adding to Druckmann's comments, Mazin also suggested we won't see every storyline from The Last of Us Part II in season 2 (more on that shortly). Finally, in November 2023, Druckmann confirmed season 2 will contain brand-new material not seen in the games, so there'll be some new content for long time fans to immerse themselves in.
Will The Last of Us season 2 be the final installment?
Despite there only being two video games (Druckmann says Naughty Dog has a "concept" in mind for The Last of Us Part III, for what it's worth), the series could potentially run for three seasons. As HBO's Francesca Orsi told Deadline (see the article linked in our release date section): "I think Craig and Neil are still figuring out where they’re going to come to an end. We have loosely heard that there will be a season 3 idea, but at this point, we’re taking it one season at a time. There’s no guarantee at this point that we’ll have a season 3, but I know that they both have a vision for season 3. Whether that lends itself to doing more [seasons], I don’t know yet."
Happily, Mazin has confirmed plans for season 3 in a separate Deadline interview, saying: "It [the second game] is going to be more than one season. There’s more story, so this show will not end with season 2 unless people don’t watch it and we’ll get cancelled". And there’s pretty much no chance of that happening, in our opinion. Once a third season is greenlit, we'll let you know.
For more Max-based coverage, read our guides on Euphoria season 3, the best Max movies, all of the new new Max movies, and the best Max documentaries to stream today.
