HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season less than two weeks after
the series premiere aired in January 2023. Series co-creators
Craig Mazin and
Neil Druckmann were joined in the
writers' room by
Halley Gross and Bo Shim; Druckmann wrote and co-directed the video games, and Gross co-wrote Part II. Filming began in
British Columbia in February 2024, and is set to run until August. Druckmann, Mazin, and
Peter Hoar are set to return as directors, alongside newcomers
Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado,
Mark Mylod, and
Stephen Williams. The season is expected to span seven episodes.
Pedro Pascal as
Joel Miller, a hardened middle-aged survivor.[1][3] Joel is portrayed as more physically vulnerable in the series compared to the game—he is
hard of hearing in one ear and his knees ache when he stands.[4]
Bella Ramsey as
Ellie, who is immune to the Cordyceps infection.[2][3] She displays much defiance and anger but has a private need for kinship and belonging.[2] She is strong-willed but has not lost her playfulness.[5][6][7]
Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Joel's younger brother and who maintains idealism in hoping for a better world.[8][9] A former Firefly, Tommy gave up on their cause and runs a
commune with his wife.[10]
Kaitlyn Dever as
Abby, a soldier who seeks vengeance for a loved one and subsequently has her worldview challenged.[14]
Young Mazino as Jesse, an important member of his community whose selflessness sometimes comes at a cost.[15]
Isabela Merced as Dina, Ellie's romantic interest and Jesse's ex. She is a freewheeling spirit with a loyalty towards Ellie, which is challenged by the world's brutality.[16]
Danny Ramirez as Manny, a loyal soldier who fears failing his friends. He maintains a jovial attitude despite the pain of his past.[17]
Ariela Barer as Mel, a doctor committed to her role while struggling with the realities of war.[17]
Tati Gabrielle as Nora, a military medic who has difficulty accepting her past behavior.[17]
Spencer Lord as Owen, a gentle person whose physical strength forces him to fight enemies he does not hate.[17]
Catherine O'Hara in an undisclosed guest role.[18] She is set to appear in three episodes alongside Pascal and Ramsey.[19]
Jeffrey Wright as Isaac Dixon, the leader of a militia who faces an ongoing war in their pursuit for liberty. Wright reprises his role from
the video game.[20]
HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season on January 27, 2023, less than two weeks after
the premiere of
the first season.[22] While the first season covers the events of the video game The Last of Us (2013) and its downloadable expansion The Last of Us: Left Behind (2014),[23] the second season is set to cover the sequel, The Last of Us Part II (2020). Druckmann and Mazin wanted to avoid
filler between the games.[24]PartII is expected to span multiple seasons,[25] and Mazin does not want the series to overtake the games.[26] While writing the first season, Mazin and Druckmann ensured characters remained true to their developments in Part II in case the show received more seasons.[27] In January 2024, Druckmann, Mazin, and
Peter Hoar were announced as returning directors from the first season, alongside newcomers
Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado,
Mark Mylod, and
Stephen Williams.[28] In June, Mazin and Druckmann revealed the season would consist of seven episodes, one of which was set to be "quite big" in runtime.[12]
Casting for the second season was
put on hold in May 2023 due to the
Writers Guild of America strike; actors had been
auditioning with scenes from The Last of Us Part II due to an absence of
scripts.[29] The production team wanted to start the second season's casting with
Abby; Mazin suggested and the Los Angeles Times reported the role had been cast before the strike.[30][31][32] According to Los Angeles's Sneider, Dever was in talks to play Abby in November, following the response to her performance in No One Will Save You (2023);[33] her casting was announced on January 9, 2024,[14] followed by Mazino's as Jesse on January 10,[15] and Merced's as Dina on January 11.[16] O'Hara's casting was announced on February 2,[18] followed by Ramirez, Barer, Gabrielle, and Lord's on March 1,[17] and Wright's on May 24.[20]
Writing
A
writers' room for the second season was established in Los Angeles by February 2023,[34] with Mazin and Druckmann joined by
Halley Gross, who co-wrote Part II with Druckmann, and Bo Shim, a new writer.[35] Scripts were being written by April,[36] with a full season outline mapped,[35] but writing was impacted by the writers' strike in May;[29] Mazin had only written and submitted the first episode about 90 minutes before the strike began,[37] and neither he nor Druckmann worked on the series while the strike was ongoing.[29] Instead, Mazin would mentally outline scenes while taking walks, described as "brain-writing", as he planned to quickly complete scripts after the strike to ensure a smooth production schedule.[35] The second season is set to feature themes of revenge, in contrast to the first season's
unconditional love; Druckmann felt it was a "continuation of love from the first season, and this is just the dark side of that coin".[12]
The second season is filmed in
British Columbia,[36] including
Vancouver.[41] Delayed by the writers' and
actors' strikes,[37] production began on February 12, 2024,[42][43] running under the
working titleMega Sword.[44] Mazin directed his episode first;[45] the first day of production involved Ramsey and Merced.[46] A building in
Kamloops was dressed to replicate the in-game Greenplace Market in February.[38][39] Production took place in
Calgary, Alberta—where the first season was partly filmed—on March 5–6,[47][48] before moving to
Mission,
Fort Langley, and
Langley, expected to replicate parts of
Jackson, Wyoming.[48][49][50] Mazin's episode neared completion by March 12.[45][51] Production returned to Alberta for ten days from March 18, with filming in
Exshaw and along
Highway 1A from March 21–24 requiring snow and a 72-hour partial highway closure.[52] HBO denied rumors that Pascal had finished filming for the season in March.[53]
Mylod directed after Mazin in February,[51][54] followed by Herron and Hoar in April,[55][56] Williams and Druckmann in May,[57][58] and Lopez-Corrado in July.[59] Catherine Goldschmidt worked as
cinematographer alongside Mylod,[60] and Ksenia Sereda returned to work alongside Druckmann.[61] Several town buildings were constructed in
Britannia Beach for production in April.[40] Filming occurred in
Downtown Eastside—expected to replicate a post-apocalyptic Seattle as featured in the game—with soldiers and military vehicles on May 4,[62][50] and Ramsey and Merced on horseback on May 11;[63][64][65] production was planned late, with some businesses given four days' notice.[66]
Preparatory production work began in
Nanaimo on April 22, with road closures from April 29.[67][68] Around six minutes of footage was filmed from May 13–14,[69] featuring Ramsey and Merced on horseback, expected to be set around
Capitol Hill and the fictional Serevena Hotel in Seattle.[70][71] The horse used in production, named Jazzway, previously featured in the television series The 100 (2014–2020) and film Jurassic World Dominion (2022).[72] Several businesses were closed during filming and compensated by the production,[67] and some surrounding businesses saw an increase in shoppers and
online traffic.[73] The crew vacated Nanaimo by May 31,[67][72] and the city was set to be gifted for its involvement in the series.[74] Druckmann's episode completed production by July 9.[61] According to the
Directors Guild of Canada, the season's production is set to conclude on August 21,[54] several weeks before September 9 as originally scheduled.[44]
Release
In December 2023, HBO announced the second season is set to premiere in 2025.[75] It shared the first images of Pascal and Ramsey on May 15, 2024.[76]