The Last of Us HBO Showrunner Teases Season 2 Plans

Craig Mazin, the showrunner behind HBO's upcoming TV adaptation of The Last of Us, has teased his own plans for the show's second season. Currently, HBO hasn't announced that The Last of Us will be receiving any new seasons beyond this first run of episodes that are slated to premiere later this month. Assuming that the series does get renewed, though, Mazin already knows the direction that he'd like to go in. 

In a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, Mazin explained plainly that a potential Season 2 for The Last of Us would directly adapt the game's sequel The Last of Us Part 2. While this might seem like a logical thing to do, some fans wondered if Mazin and co-writer Neil Druckmann would opt to explore the gap between video game entries a bit more in the show to highlight more of what protagonists Joel and Ellie did between installments. For Mazin, though, he stated that doing something along these lines would be considered "filler," which is not what he wants. 

Knowing that The Last of Us Part 2 would be on tap to get adapted in Season 2 of The Last of Us, it begs the question of when such a season would even be filmed. For those unaware, The Last of Us Part 2 takes place multiple years after the first game, which means that many of the main characters in the series are considerably older. This is particularly important for Ellie, who is portrayed by Bella Ramsey in HBO's The Last of Us. Whether or not Mazin and those in charge of The Last of Us would look to immediately film Season 2 if it got greenlit or instead wait for Ramsey to age up a bit remains to be seen, but it's something to keep in mind moving forward. 

Regardless of what the future holds, The Last of Us is finally set to premiere later this month on January 15th on HBO and HBO Max. Be sure to stay tuned to our ongoing coverage of the series here on ComicBook.com as we approach its release.