Sony chose an unexpected venue to drop major entertainment news at CES 2025, revealing that HBO’s acclaimed adaptation of The Last of Us will return for its second season in April. The announcement came alongside a new trailer that offers fans their first substantial look at the show since September’s brief teaser.
The upcoming season picks up five years after the controversial ending of season one, with Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning as Joel and Ellie. The new footage suggests a growing rift between the surrogate father-daughter duo, likely stemming from the heavy decisions made in the first season’s finale.
Several new faces join the cast in important roles, including Kaitlyn Dever as Abby (I really hope she’s ready for life after this show), a mysterious Firefly faction member whose story will be a major focus of the season’s story. Isabela Merced steps in as Dina, Ellie’s new love interest, while Young Mazino takes on the role of Jesse, a close friend of Ellie.
However, the best casting choice is undoubtedly Jeffrey Wright, who reprises his role as Isaac Dixon from The Last of Us Part II video game, leading the Washington Liberation Front. Familiar faces Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley will also return as Tommy and Maria, maintaining continuity with the first season’s established world.
Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have confirmed that The Last of Us Part II‘s story will span multiple seasons, with season two covering just the first portion of the game’s narrative. Druckmann has hinted at some departures from the source material, promising that these changes will “lean into those feelings you had from the game, really heavily, in a new way.”
The series has become a cornerstone of Sony’s expanding entertainment strategy, pioneering their game-to-screen adaptations. Its success has paved the way for upcoming adaptations of other PlayStation franchises, including Helldivers, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Ghost of Tsushima, with a God of War series also in development despite recent creative team changes.
Following the Emmy-winning success of its first season, my only hope is that HBO’s The Last of Us can continue to demonstrate that video game adaptations can thrive as prestige TV when handled with care and respect for the source material.
