The second season of The Last of Us may only have just started, but season three is already in the works.
Based on the popular video games, the HBO show has been an undeniable success since it began in 2023.
‘THE LAST OF US’ has been renewed for Season 3.
pic.twitter.com/ye8TGIAcb3— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) April 9, 2025
Starring Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal, it tells the story of a post-apocalyptic world ravaged by a fungal infection that turns its victims into zombies.
The first season was praised for its fairly faithful adaptation of the game. But it also received acclaim for the points in which it deviated or expanded upon the source material.
This is perhaps most notable in the third episode, “Long, Long Time” which focused on the love story between Bill, played by Nick Offerman, who won an Emmy for his performance, and Frank (Murray Bartlett). Only fleetingly referred to in the game, the romance was given room to breathe in the series.
The Last of US Part II, on which the second season of the TV series draws, is a monster (pun intended) of a game, and there’s plenty of material for more episodes.
WARNING: Potential spoilers for season two ahead!
Who will see in The Last of Us season three?
We’d like to be able to say with certainty that both Bella Ramsey, who plays young Ellie Williams, and Pedro Pascal (Joel Miller) will return for season three. But The Last of Us is a post-apocalyptic drama, filled with hungry zombies and all sorts of dangers. So, survival is by no means guaranteed.
The Last of Us Part II also features a dramatic twist fairly early on that still resonates with fans today: Joel’s death at the hands of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), who we meet at the beginning of season two. Her dad was one of the doctors due to operate on Ellie to see if they could find a cure for the cordyceps fungus.
We’re not sure at what point, or even if, Joel’s death will take place in the show, meaning there’s a question mark over Pascal being in season three.
But we’d be surprised not to see Ramsey return. Likely to be joining her are Dever, Gabriel Luna (as Joel’s brother Tommy), and Isabela Merced as Dina.
What is the plot of season three?
As Variety reports, the show’s creators, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann always planned to tell the lengthy story of The Last of Us Part II over a number of seasons.
Mazin said the series had “one or two more seasons” before the second game’s story was done. So, there could be the possibility of a fourth season as well (fingers crossed, everyone).
The second game took twice as long, by most accounts, to complete as the first, so should provide enough material for a number of seasons. As for a plot, it depends how closely the creators want to mirror the game.
The prevailing theory is that The Last of Us Part II‘s plot twist – if it happens at all – will be moved to the end of season two to allow viewers more time with the characters and to give it as much impact as possible.
If that is the case, season three will start on a tense note. The rest of the season would then be dominated, most likely, by Ellie and Tommy’s quest for revenge.
Season three could also feature a lot of Abby’s story, which is also told in the second game. Of course, some of her backstory could be handled and fleshed out in season two, leaving more room to focus on Ellie’s side of things.
When will The Last of Us season three air and how many episodes will there be?
Both these points are almost impossible to answer. Season one had nine episodes. Season two, delayed by the Hollywood strikes, has seven.
We’d like to say will see a third season in 2026, but 2027 is a safer bet. If we hear any hints at all about a potential episode count, we’ll let you know. You can find all of our The Last of Us coverage here.
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