HBO has released the official trailer for season 2 of the original drama series The Last of Us during a panel at South by Southwest (SXSW) featuring Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, Young Mazino, Craig Mazin, and Neil Druckmann.
The seven-episode second season premieres on Sunday, April 13 on HBO and will be available to stream on Max. New episodes will debut on subsequent Sundays.
This edge-of-your-seat sneak peek includes plenty of big hints about what's to come, including the growing divide between Joel and Ellie. It's clear now that she's discovered his deception and, as fans of the games will know, the ramifications are a major plot point.
We also see more of the infected (one of the biggest season 1 complaints is that their screen time was too limited), but only a few fleeting glimpses of Abby. It appears her role in the story is being kept largely under wraps for the time being.
We also can't help but notice the inclusion of spores; that first batch of episodes didn't feature them due to concerns about how realistic it was for an airborne fungus to pose a threat to Joel and Ellie. The argument was that they'd surely just escape into the atmosphere, but to the creative team's credit, they're seemingly giving fans what they want.
"Five years after the events of the first season," reads the official logline, "Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind."
The Last of Us season 2's returning cast includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and Rutina Wesley as Maria.
Previously announced new additions include Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and Jeffrey Wright as Isaac. Catherine O’Hara also guest stars.
It's been widely reported that The Last of Us will adapt Part II over multiple seasons. Two at most will surely be enough but showrunner Craig Mazin has seemed confident that there's more story to be told, presumably beyond where the last game ended.
"I think it's pretty likely that our story will extend past a season 3," he teased in a recent interview. "How far past? I can't say. And that's not to say that there are not other stories that could be told, but this story is the one that Neil and I are telling."
The Last of Us, based on the acclaimed video game franchise developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation consoles, is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann.
The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is also executive produced by Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O’Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells; with writer/co-executive producer Halley Gross. Production companies: PlayStation Productions, Word Games, Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog.
Check out the new trailer for The Last of Us season 2 in the players below (via GameFragger.com).