HBO’s The Last of Us series is heading into season two. That means it’s moving into the story of The Last of Us: Part II. But, according to the show’s creators, we can expect a series that’s much longer than just two parts. The Last of Us‘ Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann recently confirmed to GQ the sprawling story of The Last of Us: Part II would be split across seasons.
“It’s more than one season,” Druckmann noted in response to a question of whether the second season would span the entire course of the second game. But how much more remains a question mark. Mazin adds, “You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct.”
More than one leaves the door wide open. And Part II‘s story is indeed more complicated and character-filled than the tale of the first game. So breaking it up in this way makes sense. We’ll likely see the return of Tommy and Maria, alongside Joel and Ellie. We’ll also meet new characters in the second season of The Last of Us and beyond. HBO’s head of drama Francesca Orsi recently noted that season two of The Last of Us would offer “a big swing from both an entertainment standpoint, related to the clickers, but also just the more nuanced, complex character dynamic between our characters, Joel, Ellie and beyond.”
But one thing we shouldn’t expect in the future seasons is a one-to-one remake of the game. The show is, of course, an adaptation, and more changes will likely come with more real estate. Mazin notes, per Slash Film, “We will present things, but it will be different. It will be different, just as this season was different. Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it will be barely different at all, but it’s going to be different, and it will be its own thing. It won’t be exactly like the game.”
Change can feel scary. But given everything we’ve seen in The Last of Us season one, we have high hopes for season two and beyond. Even if the series does not exactly replicate every part of The Last of Us‘ games, it will surely capture their spirit.
