We haven’t yet reached the last of The Last of Us. Ahead of the highly anticipated season 2 premiere on April 13, HBO announced that the hit sci-fi series—based on the popular PlayStation video game franchise—has already been renewed for a third season.
The announcement didn’t exactly come out of nowhere. Co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have spent months dropping hints that they would need multiple seasons to adapt the games The Last of Us: Part I and The Last of Us: Part II, and that Part II’s storyline, in particular, would stretch beyond season 2. As Mazin told Deadline in 2024, “We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time to go down interesting pathways, which we did a little bit in season 1, too. Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require season 4.” (Similarly, HBO executive Francesca Orsi told the outlet in February 2025 that “it’s looking like four seasons.”)
Even before these teases, there was little doubt the series would continue as long as necessary. Actress Bella Ramsey, who plays protagonist Ellie Williams, told ELLE in 2023 that she would play the character for as long as HBO wants her. “There’s no limits for me,” Ramsey says. “They can do as many games as they like, as many series as they like, and I’ll be here, flying back out to Canada.”
Mazin also shared his enthusiasm with ELLE, adding that, “To get to the end of the story in the time that we need to take to get to the proper end would be awesome. If I got to work on a set with Bella Ramsey every day for the rest of my life, I’d be thrilled.”
At the time of HBO’s official green light, announced on April 9, 2025, Mazin shared an official statement saying that “the end results” of season 2 “have exceeded even our most ambitious goals,” with Druckmann adding that “we’re thrilled to bring you more of The Last of Us.”
What will season 3 of The Last of Us be about?
In a May 2025 interview with Collider, Mazin responded to questions about the potential length of season 3, given that season 2 is only a fraction of the story left to tell.
“I think there’s a decent chance that season 3 will be longer than season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different,” he explained. “The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story.”
Mazin continued, “I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for Season 3. I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”
It is also part of the original game narrative that the perspective shifts from Ellie and Joel’s relationship to Abby, trying to show how she sees her choices and act of revenge, which may mean a season more focused on the “villain” of season 2.
Who will be cast in season 3 of The Last of Us?
Bella Ramsey should return as Ellie, as well as Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. Isabela Merced should be seen as Dina. Whether or not Pedro Pascal will make an appearance in a flashback, given that Joel is not dead, is unclear.
Other cast members likely to return include Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, and Alanna Ubach as Hanrahan.
Has production started for season 3 of The Last of Us?
In an interview with Variety released May 4, 2025, actress Isabela Merced who plays Dina, discussed some production expectations. When asked if she knew when filming of season 3 would begin, Merced replied, “No, but I think it should be next year.”
This story will be updated.
