The Last of Us Season 2 filming has us worried about a major death

It sometimes feels like HBO's The Last of Us Season 2 is growing slower than a cordyceps-infected mushroom, but somewhere out there in the dark of TV land, the next run of episodes is slowly expanding in the shadows. Following the unprecedented success of 2023's first season, The Last of Us will be back in 2025.

While Season 1 neatly tied off the events of 2013's The Last of Us, we've already been warned the bigger backdrop of 2020's The Last of Us Part II will require multiple seasons of storytelling. It's more good news for us because who wouldn't want more episodes? Unfortunately, one major player could be bowing out early. 

The Last of Us Season 2 filming is bad news for Joel

Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey took the lead as Joel and Ellie in Season 1, and even though some were originally unconvinced by their casting, it's hard to imagine anyone else taking on the role of the gruff survivor and his stubborn adoptive daughter. 

For those who've played The Last of Us Part II, you'll know how things go down. The introduction of Kaitlyn Dever's Abby Anderson will rock the show to its core, with Abby being responsible for Joel's death early into Part II. Considering Pascal's lauded performance, we'd hoped the writers had found a way to extend his character arc. 

Now, reports from insider Daniel Richtman claim that Pascal has already wrapped filming his Season 2 role as Joel Miller. He's also reportedly started preparing to play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the MCU, meaning he was barely on the set of The Last of Us. If that doesn't scream early exit, nothing does. 

Remember, it was only in late February that Pascal told Deadline how "filming is going amazing," just weeks into the shoot. Even though it's possible to have wrapped Joel's entire Season 2 story in under two months, it's not exactly commonplace, nor the update we were looking for. 

We're not ready to say goodbye

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Image via Naughty Dog

The news has gone down about as well as you'd expect, as tearful fans are already bracing themselves for the worst. With Pascal having wrapped filming so quickly, it's hard to see any situation where he's going to be a central figure in Season 2 - especially as Ramsey seems to still be filming.

Responding to Pascal's whistle-stop schedule, one forlorn fan wrote, "Wonder if they go stretch it 4 o5 eps or just the 1st or 2nd all ik when he gone I’m done watching😂." Another added, "Damn and they just started filming…. ifykyk," and a third said, "Was it like a day of filming and then getting the 3 wood out of his hair?"

We're normally pretty optimistic about these things, but the grim spectre of Abby and her golf club has always loomed large over The Last of Us. As Season 2 edges closer, it looks like the show's antagonist has been working on her golf swing. Goodbye Joel Miller, we hardly knew ye.