The Last of Us Showrunner Suggests Joel’s Fate Could Be Changed For Season 2

The Last of Us could change one of the most controversial story beats from the second game in its second season. The Last of Us is one of the biggest shows of 2023, if not the biggest, and it’s all thanks to an incredibly beloved PlayStation video game from 2013. The first season faithfully adapted the first game while still adding its own changes, but the major core beats remained in tact. With how faithful the show has been, many are already bracing for the show’s second season which is expected to begin adapting the very dense and very controversial second game.

In The Last of Us Part II, Joel is killed off within the first few hours of the game in a brutal fashion. It is the catalyst for the rest of the story and allows Ellie to become the protagonist, but many players felt like they had the rug pulled out from under them. The game was heavily advertised to feature Joel in the entire game and many grew attached to him, so they were understandably a bit frustrated to see him taken out of the story so early on. Now, many are fearing Pedro Pascal’s time in the series will be limited as a result. As part of a Pedro Pascal profile piece, Esquire asked showrunner Craig Mazin if Joel’s death is still in the cards for season 2. Mazin noted that he’s down to kill people off, but also stated he doesn’t feel “constrained” by the source material. 

“This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don’t fear killing characters,” he says. “But the important thing to note is that neither Neil [Druckmann, who co-created and exec-produces the series with Mazin] nor I feel constrained by the source material.”

As for Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, Ramsey is nervous about a show without Pascal. However, Pascal notes he doesn’t think it would make sense to be so faithful to the first game only to stray away from the source material in the second game. Leaving Joel alive would drastically change the story and mean the entire reason for the story would need to be changed, but perhaps Mazin and series creator Neil Druckmann are down for that. As of right now, season 2 is expected to start shooting at the end of this year or early next year, but it will likely be a while before we get a firm answer to Joel’s fate in the TV series.

Do you want the HBO series to keep Joel alive? Let me know in the comments or hit me up on Twitter @Cade_Onder.