The Last of Us season 2 explained

The second season of the American post-apocalyptic drama television series The Last of Us is set to premiere on HBO in 2025. Based on the video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog, the series is set twenty years into a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection, which causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures and collapses society. The second season, based on the 2020 game The Last of Us Part II, follows Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) in the aftermath of the first season, and introduces Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season less than two weeks after the series premiere aired in January 2023. Series co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann were joined in the writers' room by Halley Gross and Bo Shim; Druckmann wrote and co-directed the video games, and Gross co-wrote Part II. The season was filmed in British Columbia from February to August 2024. Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar returned as directors, alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. The season is expected to span seven episodes.

Cast and characters

• Pedro Pascal as Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor. Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the game—he is hard of hearing in one ear and his knees ache when he stands.
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie, who is immune to the Cordyceps infection. She displays much defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging. She is strong-willed but has not lost her playfulness.
• Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel's younger brother and who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world. A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a commune with his wife.
• Rutina Wesley as Maria, a co-leader of the survivors in Jackson and Tommy's pregnant wife. Formerly an assistant district attorney, Maria is calm and merciful in her decisions.
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, a soldier who seeks vengeance for a loved one and subsequently has her worldview challenged.
• Young Mazino as Jesse, an important member of his community whose selflessness sometimes comes at a cost.
• Isabela Merced as Dina, Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality.
• Danny Ramirez as Manny, a loyal soldier who fears failing his friends. He maintains a jovial attitude despite the pain of his past.
• Ariela Barer as Mel, a doctor committed to her role while struggling with the realities of war.
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora, a military medic who has difficulty accepting her past behavior.
• Spencer Lord as Owen, a gentle person whose physical strength forces him to fight enemies he does not hate.
• Catherine O'Hara in an undisclosed guest role. She is set to appear in three episodes alongside Pascal and Ramsey.
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, the leader of a militia who faces an ongoing war in their pursuit for liberty. Wright reprises his role from the video game.

Production

Development

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after the premiere of the first season. While the first season covers the events of Naughty Dog's video game The Last of Us (2013) and its downloadable expansion (2014), the second season is set to cover the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020). Druckmann and Mazin wanted to avoid filler between the games. PartII is expected to span multiple seasons, and Mazin does not want the series to overtake the games. While writing the first season, Mazin and Druckmann ensured characters remained true to their developments in Part II in case the show received more seasons.

Upon the season's renewal, HBO named the returning executive producers as Mazin, Druckmann, Carolyn Strauss, Evan Wells, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Rose Lam. Jacqueline Lesko, who co-executive produced the first season, was named an executive producer in March 2023, followed by Cecil O'Connor, who produced the first season, by February 2024, replacing Lam. In January 2024, Druckmann, Mazin, and Peter Hoar were announced as returning directors from the first season, alongside newcomers Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Mark Mylod, and Stephen Williams. In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes, one of which was set to be "quite big" in runtime.

Casting

Casting for the second season was put on hold in May 2023 due to the Writers Guild of America strike; actors had been auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of scripts. The production team wanted to start the second season's casting with Abby; Mazin suggested and the Los Angeles Times reported the role had been cast before the strike. According to Los Angeless Sneider, Dever was in talks to play Abby in November, following the response to her performance in No One Will Save You (2023); her casting was announced on January 9, 2024, followed by Mazino's as Jesse on January 10, and Merced's as Dina on January 11. O'Hara's casting was announced on February 2, followed by Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's on March 1, and Wright's on May 24.

Writing

A writers' room for the second season was established in Los Angeles by February 2023, with Mazin and Druckmann joined by Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, and Bo Shim, a new writer. Druckmann worked with Mazin on the second season's story during the development of The Last of Us Part II Remastered (2024), which he felt provided an opportunity to revisit the narrative's intricacies and analyze story decisions. Scripts were being written by April, with a full season outline mapped, but writing was impacted by the writers' strike in May; Mazin had only written and submitted the first episode about 90 minutes before the strike began, and neither he nor Druckmann worked on the series while the strike was ongoing. Instead, Mazin would mentally outline scenes while taking walks, described as "brain-writing", as he planned to quickly complete scripts after the strike to ensure a smooth production schedule. The second season is set to feature themes of revenge, in contrast to the first season's unconditional love; Druckmann felt it was a "continuation of love from the first season, and this is just the dark side of that coin".

Filming

The second season was filmed in British Columbia, including Vancouver. Delayed by the writers' and actors' strikes, production began on February 12, 2024, running under the working title Mega Sword. Mazin directed his episode first; the first day of production involved Ramsey and Merced. A building in Kamloops was dressed to replicate the in-game Greenplace Market in February. Production took place in Calgary, Alberta—where the first season was partly filmed—on March 5–6, before moving to Mission, Fort Langley, and Langley, expected to replicate parts of Jackson, Wyoming. Mazin's episode neared completion by March 12. Production returned to Alberta for ten days from March 18, with filming in Exshaw and along Highway 1A from March 21–24 requiring snow and a 72-hour partial highway closure. HBO denied rumors that Pascal had finished filming for the season in March.

Mylod directed after Mazin in February, followed by Herron and Hoar in April, Williams and Druckmann in May, and Lopez-Corrado in July. Catherine Goldschmidt worked as cinematographer alongside Mylod, and Ksenia Sereda returned to work alongside Druckmann. Several town buildings were constructed in Britannia Beach for production in April. Filming occurred in Downtown Eastside—expected to replicate a post-apocalyptic Seattle as featured in the game—with soldiers and military vehicles on May 4, and with Ramsey and Merced on horseback on May 11; production was planned late, with some businesses given four days' notice.

Preparatory production work began in Nanaimo on April 22, with road closures from April 29. Around six minutes of footage was filmed from May 13–14, featuring Ramsey and Merced on horseback, expected to be set around Capitol Hill and the fictional Serevena Hotel in Seattle. The horse used in production, named Jazzway, previously featured in the television series The 100 (2014–2020) and film Jurassic World Dominion (2022). Several businesses were closed during filming and compensated by the production, and some surrounding businesses saw an increase in shoppers and online traffic. The crew vacated Nanaimo by May 31, and the city was set to be gifted for its involvement in the series.

Filming occurred on a private property at Minaty Bay in Britannia Beach across five days—June 5, 7, 12, 13, and July 2—with smoke and flame pyrotechnics present. Filming took place in Chinatown on July 8, with Ramsey, Merced, and the fictional group Seraphites in a recreation of Seattle. Druckmann's episode completed production by July 9. Filming returned to Downtown Eastside on July 12, and moved to Stanley Park on July 13 and Downtown Vancouver on July 25. A section of Harbour Green Park in Coal Harbour was closed from July 25–27 for production, featuring several abandoned cars and foliage. Filming occurred in New Westminster on July 28, at the Orpheum theatre on July 29, and around Cordova and Cambie Streets in Gastown from August 9–13. The season's wrap party took place on August 18, and production concluded on August 21, several weeks before September 9 as originally scheduled.

Post-production

Timothy A. Good and Emily Mendez are set to return as editors for the second season.

Release

In December 2023, HBO announced the second season is set to premiere in 2025. The network shared the first images of Pascal and Ramsey on May 15, 2024, and the first footage from the season—featuring Dever, Merced, O'Hara, and Wright—on August 4.