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

Good news, we finally know when The Last of Us Season 2 is coming. Bad news: It's not in 2024. But at least we now know when to expect the return of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey)'s post-apocalyptic journey!

The somber finale of the apocalyptic drama seems to have dropped ages ago. In case you forgot: Joel and Ellie 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.

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The Last of Us Season 2 latest news

At the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation on May 15, HBO revealed the first photos of Joel and Ellie in Season 2. 

When is The Last of Us Season 2 premiering?

HBO also confirmed at the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation on May 15 that The Last of Us Season 2 is set to debut in 2025.

The Last of Us Season 2 cast

On March 1, Variety shared the latest additions to The Last of Us Season 2. They 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."

Also according to Variety, Tati Gabrielle is cast as Nora, "a military medic struggling to come to terms with the sins of her past." And Spencer Lord will play Owen, "a gentle soul trapped in a warrior's body, condemned to fight an enemy he refuses to hate." Variety reported on February 2 that Catherine O'Hara would be joining the cast. No details have been shared about her character.

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."

The returning cast includes:

• Pedro Pascal as Joel 
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy
• Rutina Wesley as Maria

ALSO READ: Every episode of The Last of Us, ranked

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."

How to watch The Last of Us Season 1

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