The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin has confirmed that there is ‘no way’ to wrap up the story of the HBO show’s source material video in just one more season – meaning it will require a fourth.
The first instalment of the critically-acclaimed, video-game adapted series The Last of Us hit screens in 2023, telling the story of smuggler Joel (Pedro Pascal) and teenager Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) brutal fight for survival as they battled their way across an apocalyptic United States of America.
The nine episodes expanded faithfully upon the source material of the franchise, a 2013 video game of the same name, and was renewed for a second season shortly afterwards to adapt the video game’s 2020 sequel, The Last of Us: Part II.
With that season (somehow) nearly wrapped up, Ellie’s quest for revenge is well underway – but fans of the game will know that there’s some timeline trickery involved, and rehashing of events from the perspective of other characters introduced.
Fans already know that season three is on the way, but co-showrunner Craig Mazin has now confirmed that there is “no way to complete the narrative” of The Last of Us Part II in just one more instalment.
“It would take forever [to complete the story in season three],” Mazin told Collider. “There are natural perforations in the narrative where you can go, ‘Okay, let’s tear it here.’ I think there’s a decent chance that Season 3 will be longer than Season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different.
“The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it.
“We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story. I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for Season 3. I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”
Remember what I taught you. #TheLastOfUs is streaming now on @StreamOnMax. pic.twitter.com/dJi2WHINK3
— The Last of Us (@TheLastofUsHBO) May 19, 2025
Season two again stars Ramsey and Pascal alongside new and returning characters to the TV adaptation, including Dina (Isabela Merced), Gale (Catherine O’Hara), and of course, Kailtyn Dever as Abby Anderson.
Episode four of The Last of Us featured a sex scene between Ellie and Dina, and has been subsequently review-bombed by homophobes, despite being faithful to the source material video game.
The Last of Us airs on HBO on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET and on Mondays in the UK on Sky Atlantic and Now. It is also available to stream on Max.
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