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The Last of Us Season 2: What Game It Will Cover, Cast, and Everything Else to Know

More characters from the game have been added to the ensemble

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Kat Moon

It's hard to believe that The Last of Us Season 1 only premiered last year. The somber finale of the apocalyptic drama seems to have dropped ages ago. In case you forgot: Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) were captured by the Fireflies, and Joel took extreme measures (read: killed everyone in sight) to keep Ellie alive. She is safe in the final moments of the show, but Ellie seemingly knows that Joel has lied to her about the Fireflies and their cure. 

With every episode, The Last of Us Season 1 proved that video game adaptations can work. Yes, many in the genre have been lackluster in the past. But with stellar performances, extraordinary visual effects, and episodes that gave us all the feels, The Last of Us established itself as one of the best video game adaptations in the books. Luckily for us, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have been working on a Season 2.

HBO officially renewed The Last of Us for a second season in January 2023, and audiences are eager to see what awaits Joel and Ellie in Season 2. TV Guide will share everything we learn about the next chapter of the story here.


The Last of Us Season 2 latest news

The Last of Us Season 2 has added 4 new members to the cast. On March 1, Variety reported that Danny Ramirez, Ariela BarerTati Gabrielle, and Spencer Lord will be starring in the new season. Read on for information on who they'll be playing.

The Last of Us Season 2 cast

Per Variety, the latest additions to The Last of Us Season 2 include Danny Ramirez as Manny, "a loyal soldier whose sunny outlook belies the pain of old wounds and a fear that he will fail his friends when they need him most," and Ariela Barer as Mel, "a young doctor whose commitment to saving lives is challenged by the realities of war and tribalism."

Tati Gabrielle has been cast as Nora, "a military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past." Spencer Lord will play Owen, "a gentle soul trapped in a warrior's body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate."

On Jan. 11, Deadline reported that Isabela Merced is joining the cast as Dina. "Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable," Mazin and Druckmann told the publication. "You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away."

Young Mazino will play Jesse in The Last of Us Season 2, according to Variety. In 2023, Mazino had a breakout performances as Paul Cho, the younger brother of Steven Yeun's Danny Cho, in Beef. Jesse is described as "a pillar of his community who puts everyone else's needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost." 

Kaitlyn Dever will join Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in Season 2 as Abby, a key figure in the second game. Interestingly, fans campaigned for Dever — a veteran of Justified, Dopesick, and, most recently, Hulu's horror film No One Will Save You — to play Ellie when the series adaptation was first announced, and her casting as Abby has been rumored for months.

"Our casting process for season two has been identical to season one: we look for world-class actors who embody the souls of the characters in the source material," Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann said in a statement. "Nothing matters more than talent, and we're thrilled to have an acclaimed performer like Kaitlyn join Pedro, Bella and the rest of our family."

News of her casting came after Mazin told The Hollywood Reporter in August 2023 that the strike had derailed the search for Abby. "The strike stopped us in our tracks. Things were in process. Look, Abby was the first role that we wanted to tackle," he said. "We've got a pretty good track record of making major cast announcements and people going, 'Really?' which will probably continue."

Stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will return as Joel and Ellie, respectively.

How much of The Last of Us Part II will Season 2 cover?

In a March 2023 interview with GQ, Mazin and Druckmann were asked whether Season 2 of the show will cover all of Part II of the game. "No, no way," Mazin said. Druckmann also told GQ that Part II will take "more than one season" to tell. When asked about the exact number of seasons it'll take to adapt Part II, however, the creators did not share. 

One thing we do know is that fans can probably expect to see more of the infected when The Last of Us returns. "It's quite possible that there will be a lot more infected later," Mazin told Variety. "And perhaps different kinds."

The Last of Us Season 2 release date prediction

HBO boss Casey Bloys shared on Nov. 2, 2023, that The Last of Us Season 2 will begin production in early 2024, according to Variety. The outlet also reported that The Last of Us was not included in the lineup for HBO's 2024 slate, suggesting that the earliest the series is expected to return is 2025.

When filming does begin, we can look to Season 1's production timeline for an example of how long it might take: For Season 1, shooting lasted just under a year, and the season aired about six months later. That timeline also suggests that we are likely looking at 2025 as the earliest possible release year for Season 2.

How to watch The Last of Us Season 1

The Last of Us Season 1 is available to stream on Max.