MOVIE NEWS – The Last of Us showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have big plans for seasons two and three, but it’s unclear if they’ll ever come to fruition…

The Last of Us was renewed for a second season shortly after the first season premiere. While fans can be assured that a second season will come sooner rather than later, it may be the last.

Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke candidly about the future of HBO’s The Last of Us after the release of season one. They both pointed out that adapting the second game – The Last of Us Part II – will take more time and money, as it is much bigger than the first game.

They also talked about their willingness to take more than one season to adapt the events of The Last of Us Part II, with Mazin explicitly stating that they plan to continue the series for more than one season.

According to HBO’s head of drama, Francesca Orsi, these statements should not be taken as confirmation. In an interview with Deadline, Orsi clarified that there is no guarantee that the series’ story will be extended for a third season. “I think Craig and Neil are still figuring out where they’re going to come to an end,” she said. “We have loosely heard that there will be a Season 3 idea for the series, but at this point, we’re taking it one season at a time. There’s no guarantee at this point that we’ll have a Season 3 but I know that they both have a vision for Season 3. Whether that lends itself to doing more [seasons], I don’t know yet.”

Orsi also talked about the delay of season 2 due to the writers’ strike. On a more positive note, though, she did spill some information about Season 2, saying, “All I can say is he’s taking a big swing from both an entertainment standpoint, related to the clickers, but also just the more nuanced, complex character dynamic between our characters, Joel, Ellie and beyond.” Her statement about Ellie and Joel’s relationship was unsurprisingly left vague.

Of course, this shouldn’t be news to fans of The Last of Us Part II, as Joel and Ellie begin the game with a much more strained relationship due to Joel’s decisions at the end of the first game.

Orsi’s statements about season three sound cautious for a good reason. Due to the writers’ strike, the release date for season 2 has already been pushed back to 2025. With Mazin and Druckmann not allowed to start writing anything for the series, the season that has already been greenlit is threatened with uncertainty. This means that while season 3 of The Last of Us may seem like a logical next step, not enough progress has been made on season 2 to make season 3 a priority.

Source: Deadline