Why The Last of Us May End With Season 2

This weeks Your Nerd Side Show:

HBO's Head of Drama Francesca Orsi revealed there was still a chance the hit post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us will not continue beyond its upcoming second season.

Per Deadline, Orsi claimed The Last of Us creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were still reviewing their plans for the show's future. The executive stated that both of the creators were focusing all their efforts on Season 2. "I think Craig and Neil are still figuring out where they're going to come to an end," Orsi explained. "We have loosely heard that there will be a Season 3 idea for the series, but at this point, we're taking it one season at a time. There's no guarantee at this time 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."

At the time of writing, HBO has yet to confirm anything beyond The Last of Us' upcoming Season 2. However, Druckmann previously claimed he and Mazin had an idea of the timeline beyond the next chapter and further stated that they were already laying the groundwork for Season 3. The co-creator also revealed the original video games gave them a chance to better prepare the adaptation's storyline, with Druckmann implying future seasons will closely follow the source material.

The Future of The Last of Us

"We know where a lot of Season 2 and 3 will go, so we could start laying things in earlier," Druckmann said. "Because we're making the show, we know [The Last of Us: Left Behind], we know Last of Us Part II, so there are things like we could have Marlene talk about Riley early on because we have a better understanding of who Riley is because Left Behind has already come out."

As for when The Last of Us Season 2 might release, actor Bella Ramsey, who portrayed Ellie Williams in the adaptation, tentatively estimated the show would return by the end of 2024 or early 2025. Orsi later claimed the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike could potentially delay the show's release date, with the HBO executive admitting The Last of Us Season 2 premieremight be pushed even further back depending on how long the strike lasted.

The Last of Us is available to stream on Max.

Source: Deadline