HBO’s The Last of Us is finally back for its long-awaited second season. Jumping five years ahead from the end of season one, season two closely follows Ellie and Joel through some of the events from The Last of Us Part II. The upcoming season is expected to be action-packed and even brutal, showcasing deleted material from the games, original characters, and the highly anticipated appearance of a new antagonist. With just seven episodes, season two is packing a lot into a short time.
The series, based on the Naughty Dog games of the same name, is set in the aftermath of the catastrophic Cordyceps pandemic and follows the hardened Joel (Pedro Pascal) as he is hired to smuggle 14-year-old and potential savior of humanity, Ellie (Bella Ramsey), across the United States. Created by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckman, The Last of Us was nominated for 24 Emmy awards for its first season alone. The series has also broken records in terms of viewership, becoming the most-watched HBO Max series of all time in Latin America and Europe.
Season two marks the HBO debut of multiple characters, including one of the series’ main antagonists. According to Dateline, here are some of the newest faces to join The Last of Us.
- Abby Anderson – Kaitlyn Dever
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Portrayed by Kaitlyn Dever, Abby is one of the most anticipated characters this season. Known for her work in Booksmart, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Unbelievable, Dever is joining the cast for three of the seven upcoming episodes. After suffering a major personal loss at the hands of Joel, Abby, a skilled and heavily trained soldier, sets off on a vengeful mission to find him.
While the game gives players opportunities to empathize with Abby, she still takes an antagonistic stance toward Ellie through her mission against Joel. Ranked as one of the top ten worst villains from the game series, Abby is an iconic character with some shocking scenes and is bound to shake up what many non-game fans see in the show’s future.
- Dina – Isabela Merced
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Ellie’s love interest and member of the Jackson community, Dina, is another highly anticipated addition to the series. Described as “a free-wheeling spirit whose devotion to Ellie will be tested by the brutality of the world they inhabit,” Dina is a series favorite and seems to be equally loved by Mazin and Druckmann.
Isabela Merced previously appeared in Alien: Romulus, Turtles All the Way Down, and Dora and the Lost City of Gold.
- Jesse – Young Mazino
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Jesse, a close friend of Ellie and a member of the Jackson community, is played by Beef alumnus Young Mazino. Currently, he is only credited for one episode, but he was a supporting character in the games. Depending on the content used in the adaptation, it is possible that he could become more relevant in future seasons.
- Nora – Tati Gabrielle
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Known from The 100, You, and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, Tati Gabrielle joins the company as military medic Nora. Part of the team attempting to find a cure for the Cordyceps plague, she may have crossed paths with Joel and Ellie during season one, despite not being seen by audiences.
- Isaac Dixon – Jeffrey Wright
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Jeffrey Wright returns to The Last of Us, reprising his role as Isaac. He originated the character in the game series and expressed his excitement to return to the world, telling TV Insider that “it was fun to go back and revisit that character but do it in the flesh.” Isaac is the cunning leader of a large militia group that has caught itself in an endless war.
Wright has previously appeared in American Fiction, The French Dispatch, and Westworld.
Even though Naughty Dog has only released two parts of the game, it looks like season two won’t be the last for The Last of Us. Production Bulletin confirmed that the series will likely have a third season and will begin production in the summer of 2025 in Vancouver, Canada. Previous members of the production team were listed to return.
HBO has not confirmed this, but if season three is in the works, it will likely begin filming around the same time the final episode of season two airs.
Moreover, showrunner Mazin told Entertainment Weekly, “I think it’s pretty likely that our story will extend past a season 3.”
The seven-episode season two of The Last of Us premieres on Max on April 13.