‘The Last of Us’ Renewed for a Third Season

in Movie

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(L to R) Isabela Merced and Pedro Pascal in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO.

Preview:

‘The Last of Us’ has been renewed for Season 3.
The show adapts the wildly successful video game.
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey star in the show.

With the second season of much-loved video game adaptation ‘The Last of Us’ landing on screens to plenty of acclaim this past weekend, it would appear that HBO’s belief in the show is at an all-time high.

“Every path has a price.”

TV-MA2 SeasonsJanuary 15th, 2023

The channel has handed down a third-season order for the show, which adapts the video game created by Neil Druckmann and his team at Naughty Dog Studios.

‘The Last of Us’ series is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by people infected by a fungus that turns them into mutated zombie-like creatures, and stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey.

What’s the story of ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2?

Bella Ramsey in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO.

‘The Last of Us’ takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, played by Pascal, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal and heartbreaking journey as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.

Producers/Showrunners Craig Mazin (‘Chernobyl’) and Druckmann have yet to detail exactly what the new season will cover.

The first season of ‘The Last of Us’ covered much of games ‘The Last of Us Part I’ and ‘The Last of Us: Left Behind’, while Season 2 will cover part of ‘The Last of Us Part II,’ kicking off with a five-year time jump as in the video game.

Ellie, 14 in Part I and Left Behind, is 19 in Part II, and she and Joel have been living in Jackson since they left the Fireflies in Salt Lake City.

While zero details have been revealed on Season 3, we can expect it to tackle more of ‘The Last of Us Part II.’

Who else is in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2?

Kaitlyn Dever in ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO.

With Pascal and Ramsey both back for the new season, the cast of the show is growing and changing as their quest continues.

Gabriel Luna, Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, Isabela Merced and Catherine O’Hara are all part of the new season’s cast.

On top of them, Jeffrey Wright is playing Isaac, who in the game is the quietly powerful leader of a large militia group, known as the Washington Liberation Front. They sought liberty but instead have become mired in an endless war against a surprisingly resourceful enemy.

Wright represents the second actor to reprise a voice role from the game, after Merle Dandridge did the same for her character Marlene in Season 1.

And while we won’t get too deeply into it, if Season 2 covers certain events, the cast will be a little smaller when Season 3 dawns. But again; without having seen the whole season, we can’t speak to that, and won’t spoil anything for those who approach the story from the point of view of the show alone and haven’t played the game.

‘The Last of Us’ Season 3 renewal: The Team Talks

(L to R) Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann on the set of ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2. Photograph by Liane Hentscher/HBO.

With the renewal now official (hardly a surprise given the success of the show so far and the early reactions to Season 2 even before its launch), HBO and the show’s creators have weighed in on its return.

Here’s Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming:

“It can’t be overemphasized how proud HBO is for the outstanding achievement we believe the second season of ‘The Last of Us’ is. Craig, Neil, Carolyn and the entire executive producer team, cast and crew have delivered a masterful follow-up and we’re thrilled to carry the power of Craig and Neil’s storytelling into what we know will be an equally moving and extraordinary third season.”

And this is what Craig Mazin had to say:

“We approached season two with the goal of creating something we could be proud of. The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew. We look forward to continuing the story of ‘The Last of Us’ with season three!”

Finally, this is the quote from Druckmann:

“To see ‘The Last of Us’ brought to life so beautifully and faithfully has been a career highlight for me, and I am grateful for the fans’ enthusiastic and overwhelming support. Much of that success is thanks to my partner in crime, Craig Mazin, our partnership with HBO, and our team at PlayStation Productions. On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog, our cast, and crew, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity. We’re thrilled to bring you more of ‘The Last of Us’!”

When will ‘The Last of Us’ Season 3 be on screens?

We’ll all need some patience. Season 2 has just launched this past weekend, and while we’re relatively sure the team knew that Season 3 would be a done deal, there is still scripting and filming work to be done.

With luck, we should have the new season next year, though ‘The Last of Us’ has been such a good thing so far that it’s worth waiting for.