The Last of Us Season 2 update is a blow to fans
Our last hopes of seeing HBO's The Last of Us return in 2025 look like they've kicked the bucket, as those at the top have some devastating news for fans of the live-action series. We're sobbing louder than we were during Bill and Frank's episode.
After years of trying to turn Naughty Dog's 2013 game into a movie, development hell steered the course to a live-action series from Game Director Neil Druckmann and Chernobyl's Craig Mazin. The Last of Us proved to be well worth the wait and got 2023 off to a flying start. Sadly, it could be one hell of a wait until Season 2.
The Last of Us Season 2 hit with disappointing update
Click to enlargeIt seems like only yesterday that Mazin was still hyping a 2025 release for The Last of Us Season 2, and that's because it largely was. Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, Mazin has now admitted that things are grinding to a halt due to the ongoing WAG and SAG-AFTRA strikes in America.
"To the extent that we can keep anybody below the line working, that's fantastic," said Mazin. "I think it's becoming essentially a near certainty that we won't be able to start [filming] when we were hoping to start, which is upsetting." While he maintained that many are keen to keep working, they're standing their ground.
Even though work has stopped, Season 2 should be able to kick into action quickly when the strikes are over. "We were able to map out of all of Season 2," reiterated Mazin. "And I also wrote and submitted the script for the first episode and sent it in [to HBO] around 10:30 or 10:40 p.m. right before the midnight the strike began."
The Last of Us showrunner aiming for four seasons
Click to enlargeThe good news is that a delay means we'll just be watching The Last of Us for longer. Mazin has previously said he's aiming for four seasons. As there's no The Last of Us Part 3, that means 2020's The Last of Us Part II would span an epic three seasons.
It's true that Part II is a much bigger game, and having characters like Abby fleshed out could help redeem her divisive reception. At least we know as the show won't overrun the source material, we won't have a Game of Thrones situation on our hands. Now, all we need to do is sit tight and wait for Season 2 to roll around.
