With both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA striking for fair contracts, it’s hard to predict when The Last of Us will return to HBO. That doesn’t mean we’re not already thinking about season two. The series is already arguably the greatest video game adaptation ever ( possibly by a wide margin). Now showrunner Craig Mazin has made the wait for its return even harder. He spoke to The Hollywood Reporter‘s James Hibberd about the past and (potentially much longer than we even hoped for) future of the show. That included hints he might already have found the right person to play The Last of Us Part II‘s infamous Abby.
Forget just adapting two video games into two seasons of television, The Last of Us sounds like it will run for at least four. Mazin says the story of the franchise’s second installment is too big to cover in just one season on HBO. That means we’re going to get at least three years of live-action clickers. But while he says it’s possible the series will even run for five, four seems to be all but guaranteed. However, no one shouldn assume to know what that means for the fate of any characters, including the main ones. As Mazin pointed out, season one wasn’t a straight adaptation of the first game. The series wasn’t afraid to make changes.
We know one major video game character who will definitely join in the dystopian fun whenever the show returns, Abby Anderson. (Mazin seemingly teased her coming arrival with a poster already.) The showrunner wouldn’t confirm if he had already cast his Abby. It certainly sounds like he did and can’t announcer her because of the SAG-AFTRA strike. Based on the show’s previous casting in season one we’re confident he found the perfect choice. But Mazin thinks the initial reaction to the news will lead some people to say, “Really?” just as they did when the show revealed Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey would play the leads. Oops!
As for season one, Mazin’s favorite moment came in the finale when Joel and Ellie discussed his healed head scar. Mazin also discussed the ethics of the murder spree Joel went on shortly after that moment. He doesn’t have any easy answers for us. Not that we want them. All we want is season two of The Last of Us. And also seasons three, four, and five.