The Last of Us season 2 release, cast plans, and what we know so far

The Last of Us’ first season has come to an end, but there’s more to Joel and Ellie’s story than one season of TV could tell. Unfortunately, HBO hasn’t revealed too much about the next season of the show, beyond the fact that it’s happening. We don’t even know when season 2 might arrive, but given HBO’s habit of waiting two years between the first two seasons of its biggest shows (like Westworld or likely House of the Dragon) it seems like we could be waiting awhile to return to The Last of Us’ Cordyceps apocalypse.

The show’s first season adapted the story of The Last of Us Part 1, the first game in the franchise, and one thing we do know is that season 2 will focus on the story of The Last of Us Part 2. Aside from that, here’s everything you should know about The Last of Us season 2 after watching the first season’s finale.

When will The Last of Us season 2 debut on HBO?

We know for sure the second season The Last of Us is arriving this year, and while we still don’t know the specific date, HBO has given us some idea of when the show will return. In the season’s second teaser trailer, HBO revealed that the show comes back sometime in April. The trailer also gave us a look at some of the season’s new cast members, including Jeffrey Wright as Isaac and, of course, Kaitlyn Dever as Abbey.

What is season 2 (and The Last of Us Part 2) about?

In the vaguest terms, The Last of Us Part 2 deals with the consequences of Joel’s actions at the end of Part 1. If the (very general) theme of the first game is love, the second game is more about hatred, with most of its run time dedicated to vengeance. If you thought season 1 was bleak, get ready!

Is there a time skip before The Last of Us season 2?

The Last of Us Part 2 takes place a few years after the events of the first game, which means that The Last of Us season 2 will likely have a time skip as well. However, Part 2 does include some flashbacks from the intervening years, so it all depends on how HBO chooses to adapt the story, and in what order.

Will Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey be back for season 2?

Probably! Their characters will be, at the very least. And while some fans online have expressed a bit of concern about Bella being too young for Ellie’s storyline in The Last of Us Part 2, she’s actually exactly the same age as the character in the game already. More importantly, showrunner and co-creator Craig Mazin has already said that there are no plans at all to recast Ramsey — who was one of the best parts of season 1.

Will The Last of Us season 2 be its last season?

It’s possible, but probably not. Officially, The Last of Us has only been renewed for season 2 and not anything further than that, but given its popularity it’s likely to get as many seasons as Mazin and co-creator Neil Druckmann would like. As for how many that might be, the two confirmed to GQ after the first season finale that they don’t feel the story of The Last of Us Part 2 can be adapted into just one season of television. Mazin is tight-lipped about just how many seasons the pair plan to adapt the game into, only saying that it’s “more than one season.”

What does the first teaser poster for The Last of Us season 2 mean?

The Last of Us season 2’s first big tease was an image tweeted out by Druckmann on March 19, 2023. The image features an unknown person’s arm holding a hammer. While this may seem like a big mystery to show-watchers, anyone who has already played The Last of Us Part 2 will know that this is likely a tease of Abby, one of the most important characters in the game.

Supposing Mazin and Druckmann follow the plot of the second game at all, Abby will have a massive role to play in the story, and one that might complicate the moral universe of the series and our ideas about who the heroes and villains of this story might be. While this tease is pretty overt, there still hasn’t been an official announcement about who will play Abby in HBO’s series, or if she’ll even be part of the second season.

Any discussion of who exactly Abby is, what she’s like, or her importance to the plot would involve quite a few spoilers from the game that are better left unsaid while we wait for season 2, but for now we can just say that she’s a member of the Fireflies with a very direct personal connection to Joel.

Who is playing Abby in The Last of Us season 2?

On Jan. 9, 2024, HBO announced Kaitlyn Dever, known for her roles in No One Will Save You and Booksmart, was officially joining the cast of The Last of Us as Abby.

“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,” Mazin and Druckmann said in a joint statement to Variety. “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.”

Again, we’re not going to get into spoilers about Abby (though you can read about it in Polygon’s coverage of the game), but suffice it to say: HBO’s description of her as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved” feels pretty apt. And Dever’s gonna have to get jacked.

Who else is joining The Last of Us season 2 cast?

Along with the casting of Dever as Abby, HBO has announced that Catherine O’Hara, of Schitt’s Creek, Beetlejuice, and general legendary character-actor fame, will join the cast in an undisclosed role. (Which means there’s no word yet on whether her take on The Last of Us universe will include the softness of Nightmare Before Christmas’ Sally, or the exaggerated pronunciations of Schitt’s Moira.)

Also joining The Last of Us season 2: Isabela Merced as Dina and Young Mizuno as Jesse. Several more members of the cast were announced in March 2024, including Danny Ramirez (Top Gun: Maverick) as Manny, Ariela Barer (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) as Mel, Tati Gabrielle (You) as Nora, and Spencer Lord (Riverdale) as Owen. Most of this most recent batch of characters are key players in Abby’s part of the story, though that means they’ll cross paths with Ellie eventually.