Showrunner hints The Last of Us second game could fill the fourth season

The Last of Us season 2 is currently in production and showrunner Craig Mazin recently shared that it will be an adaptation of the second game. For the unversed, the action-adventure HBO series is based on the video game of the same name.

With The Last of Us: Part II being a longer and larger game, many fans wonder exactly how the story would fit under one season. During an interview with Deadline on June 5, 2024, Craig Mazin confirmed that the story will go beyond season 2. He added that to tell the entire story of the second game, season 4 may be required as well. He stated:

"We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in Season 1 too."

Mazin continued:

“We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4."

Picking up after the events of the first game, the second game sees Ellie go on a revenge mission to kill someone named Abby who had wronged her in Jackson. The story is considerably larger in scope than its predecessor.

Disclaimer: This article contains potential spoilers for The Last of Us season 2.

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The Last of Us season 2 consists of seven episodes

In the same interview, Mazin mentioned that season 2 would be "bigger" than season 1. It would consist of only seven episodes, unlike the first one which had 9 episodes. Mazin explained that the seven episodes won't possibly encapsulate the events of The Last of Us: Part II (game), but rather he wants to take time in narrating the plot as there is a "lot more" going on.

Mazin further revealed that he and his co-director, Neil Druckmann, felt that the natural breakpoint for season 2 came at the seven-episode mark. Moreover, the writers also thought that it would be a good idea to spread the storylines across different installments.

“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," Mazin added.

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What to expect from The Last of Us season 2?

The Last of Us season 2 is set to come out in 2025. The story will focus on Ellie, who after having someone close to her murdered, will go on a revenge mission to seek justice and kill those who are responsible. The bulk of the season will be based on the second game and will see the return of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as Joel and Ellie.

The season will also feature Kaitlyn Dever as the main antagonist Abby. She will be joined by Isabela Merced as Dina, and Young Mazino as Jesse. Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley will reprise their roles as Tommy and Maria.

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Fans can check out season 1 of the show on Max right now.