HBO’s The Last of Us Season 1 is about to drop, but how will the story proceed across the seasons? The creators explain their plans.
The Last of Us – one of the most acclaimed titles of the 2010s and a generation-defining game – is being given the prestige, big-budget television treatment on HBO.
Developed by the game’s creator and Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, alongside Chernobyl maestro Craig Mazin, it’s one of the most anticipated TV events of 2023, bringing the “best video game story ever told” to the screen.
The first game follows Joel and Ellie on a life-or-death, cross-country trip across an America ravaged by a brutal virus, and it seems like this will be what Season 1 of the HBO show covers. But what about Season 2?
The Last of Us Part 2 is on course for adaptation
In a recent Hollywood Reporter feature, the publication revealed that the second season will likely cover the second game, that being The Last of Us Part 2. They state, “As for this show’s ending, expect the debut season to cover the entirety of the Last of Us game. Druckmann and Mazin hint – but don’t outright say – that their second season will cover the table-flipping narrative of Naughty Dog’s bold Part II sequel (“I don’t like filler,” Mazin says).”
As for how the story will progress after that, it all hinges on how The Last of Us Part 3 will go, if that game happens at all. 2020’s Part 2 took around 7 years to come out after the first, so we may be waiting a while. However, Druckmann did reveal that “there’s more story to tell.”
But either way, the show isn’t planning to extend any further than the games. “We have no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the games,” Druckman explained. “We won’t run into the same issue as Game of Thrones since Part II doesn’t end on a cliffhanger.” Game of Thrones of course being infamous for extending past the original books, to poor results.
“I don’t have any interest in a spinning-plates-go-on-forever show,” Mazin added. “When it becomes a perpetual motion machine, it just can’t help but get kind of… stupid. Endings mean everything to me.”
What happens in The Last of Us Part 2?
Since the second season of the HBO show is set to cover the sequel game, what would happen? Well, be warned, because MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
The official plot for Part 2 is as such: Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors.
When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.
The game, which became so controversial that its creative team received death threats, features both Ellie and new character Abby as dual protagonists, meaning that the HBO show would likely feature two new actors; Abby and an older Ellie.
The game was so controversial due to it being set in motion by Abby brutally murdering Part 1 protagonist Joel, and switching perspectives between Abby and Ellie as they hunt each other down in order to gain any semblance of closure for themselves.
What made this choice so impactful was the fact that the game’s attempts to make you sympathise with Abby went beyond simply showing her backstory, you had to play as Abby for hours. Therefore, one can wonder how the TV show, which is a more passive medium, will adapt this concept.
But clearly the emotional story is in the right hands, as despite being a zombie show, Craig Mazin knows where the real heart lies: “I’m not interested in the zombies! I care about people… and one of the nice things about television is you get to begin and end [characters’ stories] over and over again, and beginnings and endings are the best.”
The Last of Us will premiere on HBO on January 15. You can find out more about the show here, and check out the rest of our coverage here.
