The Last of Us Season 2 Will Start Production Next Month 

HBO’s adaptation of the celebrated game series The Last of Us took the world by storm when it debuted in January 2023. It was immediately renewed for a second season that will continue the heart-wrenching story of the protagonists, Joel and Ellie. After some delays last year, the show is set to start production imminently.  

Season 2 Will Air in 2025

A new teaser trailer revealing some of the biggest shows that will be launching on HBO’s streaming platform Max.com throughout 2024 and 2025 confirmed a release window for The Last of Us Season 2: It’s slated to launch sometime in 2025, two years after the first season. Showrunner Craig Mazin revealed in August that the team had already started working on the next chapter, with the season’s outline mapped out and the script of the first episode written. Now, the show is set to start its critical phase: Mazin confirmed during Variety’s “A Night in the Writer’s Room” that production on The Last of Us Season 2 is scheduled to commence on February 12, 2024. Shooting is reportedly going to take place in Vancouver, Canada. 

The Story of Joel and Ellie Continues

The first season of the show adapted the entirety of the first game, following Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), two survivors of an apocalypse brought on by a deadly fungus that takes over the brain and turns humans into aggressive zombie-like monsters. The first season ended with a bang, and left fans eager to find out what season 2 will bring. Producers Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (president of Naughty Dog and creator of the original games) have already confirmed that the second season won’t encompass the entirety of The Last of Us Part 2, which is a much longer game compared to the original. 

It has been confirmed that both Pascal and Ramsey will reprise their roles as Joel and Ellie, for which both actors have garnered nominations at the Emmy Awards for Best Actor and Best Actress in a Drama Series respectively, amid 24 total nods for the show. While the first game received unanimous critical acclaim, the sequel didn’t fare as well and caused a division between gamers who didn’t agree with some choices the team at Naughty Dog made for the game. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Mazin claimed he was already expecting some “furor” from viewers due to the game’s story’s many twists. While the second season will be based on parts of the second game and feature a darker tone, it is not known yet how close it will stay to its source material.  

The Last of Us Part 2 Remaster Launch Imminent

Meanwhile, Naughty Dog is keeping new and old fans busy with a brand-new version of The Last of Us Part 2. Releasing on PlayStation 5 on January 19, a remaster of the sequel will feature upgraded graphics, a roguelike mode as well as Lost Levels that have originally been left on the cutting room floor. It offers a definitive version of the sequel that fans of the franchise can revisit and newcomers can experience with current-gen tech ahead of the launch of season 2. 

Besides the upcoming remaster, many games are available that bring the zombie apocalypse onto the screen. Another celebrated series that has been turned into both games and TV shows is The Walking Dead. The story-driven games by Telltale Games have been particularly popular. Just recently, The Walking Dead Destinies was released, allowing fans to rewrite the first four seasons of the show. The franchise’s walkers have also inspired the creation of various slot machines. Many of the best-rated casino platforms listed on CasinoReviews.com offer a large variety of slot games featuring various topics on their reels. Among them, players can find The Walking Dead and The Walking Dead 2 online slots, which bring the celebrated zombies into the traditional game. Another long-running franchise celebrating the undead is Resident Evil. Resident Evil 4 Remaster made a splash last year, reviving a classic from the early 2000s to critical acclaim. With all these and plenty more, zombie fans have a lot of games to choose from that should tide them over until The Last of Us Season 2 premieres in 2025.

Production on the second season is scheduled to start next month and will see the return of the celebrated cast. With its debut planned for 2025, however, fans will have to be patient to find out where the story will go.