The Last of Us Showrunners Confirm HBO Series Will Adapt Part 2 Game Over Multiple Seasons

The Last of Us HBO Series showrunners are confirming (really re-confirming) that the next installment of the video game series, The Last of Us: Part 2, will be adapted across multiple seasons of the TV show. While the issue has been addressed throughout The Last of Us Season 1's run, there's understandably been a major surge in curiosity following The Last of Us Season 1 Finale, which ended on a sudden, unexpected note, that left fans burning to know what comes next. 

When CG asked The Last of Us Showrunner Craig Mazin and writer (and game co-creator) Neil Druckmann directly if The Last of Us: Part 2 would be able to fit into a single season of the HBO series (like the first game did), Mazin said unequivocably "No. No way." 

Neil Druckmann followed that up by letting it be known, officially, that the story of The Last of Us Season 2 will be "more than one season." 

However, those answers only lead to a bigger question: how many seasons will it take HBO to cover the expansive events of The Last of Us: Part 2? 

For now, don't expect the showrunners to get specific, as Mazin teases that "You have noted correctly that we will not say how many. But more than one is factually correct. [Laughs]."

What Will The Last of Us Season 2 Be About? 

As stated, fans have been speculating for months that The Last of Us HBO series would split the storyline of Part 2 across multiple seasons of TV. That same speculation has gone as far as predicting how the showrunners could break things up, into at least a two-season arc of the story. 

[MILD GAME SPOILERS]

As seen in The Last of Us Season 1 Finale, Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) were left in an awkward emotional place, as Joel selfishly chose to save Ellie over having her die to create the cure humanity needs. The Last of Us: Part 2 deals with not only the emotional ramifications of what Joel did but also the societal impact, as various factions of the surviving world come looking for retribution, as well as searching for the cure that was promised. 

Gamers found out in the most hardcore way just how dark the story of Joel and Ellie gets, and The Last of Us: Part 2 remains one of the most divisive gaming sequels ever made. However, TV fans have been wondering if the TV show deviates from the games, as Part 2 starts after a significant jump in time when Joel and Ellie's relationship is in a very different place. While the game explores that relationship drama in flashbacks, the show could dwell on it more in chronological order - the sort of change that Neil Druckmann hints is coming: 

"Some of the stuff I'm most excited for [in Part 2] are the changes we've discussed and seeing the story come to life again in this other version. And I think it's exciting because it leans into those feelings you had from the game, really heavily, in a new way."

The Last of Us Season 1 is now streaming on HBO Max.