THE LAST OF US Season 2 Release Date And What To Expect

We last saw Joel and Ellie following the events at Salt Lake City, where Joel murdered militia group the Fireflies in order to save Ellie from a surgery, which would have cured the world but killed her (check out our Season 1 recap here). Afterward, Joel lied to Ellie, hiding the massacre and telling her that her immunity meant nothing: a morally grey decision to keep her safe. Or perhaps – more honestly – to ensure he didn't have to lose another daughter?

Season 2 picks up five years after this betrayal, and it is fair to say a lot has changed in the intervening period. What that is exactly is, as showrunner Neil Druckmann says, “part of the mystery.“

Take a look at The Last Of Us season 2 trailer:

Trust is the most important thing in any relationship, and with Joel lying to Ellie, it's perhaps no surprise that Season 2 sees their father-daughter dynamic strained. How much Ellie knows is not initially clear, though the trailer sees her staring at Joel, bitterly whispering, “You swore,” suggesting she discovers his lie at some point. Suffice to say that the carefree closeness the duo enjoyed by the end of Season 1 has shifted into something more complex.

It may be more than just Joel and Ellie's relationship that has suffered. Later in the trailer, Nora (Tati Gabrielle) is seen looking up at Ellie before saying, “Don't you know what he did?” hinting that Joel's secret might be known more widely, something which could have dramatic consequences for all involved. Add to this the trailer's tagline that “every path has a price” and the questions become “How high is the cost?” and “Who will be the ones to pay?”

As Joel stopped the Fireflies from making a vaccine, the Cordyceps pandemic continues to rage, meaning you can bet Season 2 will be chock-full of Clickers, Runners, Stalkers, and all manner of mushroom-headed monsters. With standout sequences from the trailer showing a wave of zombies being blown up and Tommy (Gabriel Luna) flamethrowing a Bloater, it looks like the battle between people and the Infected is as dangerous as ever.

While some things have stayed the same, there will be plenty of new characters, particularly Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). A key figure from the game, how Abby's life intersects with Joel and Ellie's is yet to be revealed; however, eagle-eyed viewers will notice from the teasers that she's wearing a Firefly pendant and seen kneeling tearfully before a grave, suggesting some link back to the events of Season 1.

The trailer also introduces Dina (Isabela Merced) dancing with Ellie before the pair share a passionate kiss. Given that the time jump now makes Ellie an adult, it looks as if their romance will play a central part in Ellie's journey in the future.

Season 1 was already expansive (taking in locations from Texas to Boston, Kansas City, rural Wyoming, and Salt Lake). Season 2 promises to push things even further, with sequences set out West in Seattle.
And it's not just new geographies: we also got a glimpse of the WLF, a paramilitary group led by Isaac (Jeffrey Wright, reprising his role from the game), and the Seraphites, a scar-faced religious cult with a penchant for night-time lynching. Add to this Abby's crew – seen briefly marching across a snowy landscape – and it's fascinating to consider how these new groups might intersect.

As with the first season, Season 2 promises to make changes to the source material. One of these is Abby's physicality: in the game, her character is incredibly muscular, while in the show, Dever has a more slender frame. Some fans initially balked at this, citing how integral Abby's physique is to her identity, though Druckmann has been keen to point out that the show has different priorities to the combat-heavy encounters on PlayStation, instead highlighting Dever's skill as a performer: “the reason we cast Kaitlyn is because she's an incredible actor… there's just something in her eyes where… no matter what she's experiencing, you connect.”

Another change is the casting of Joe Pantoliano as Eugene, a character never seen in the game. Given that Season 1 took the B-plot of Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) and heavily expanded it into an award-winning episode suggests that Eugene's character could also yield surprising opportunities. Either way, Druckmann and fellow showrunner Craig Mazin have an eye for unique ways to expand this universe, which should excite fans. 

The first season had its fair share of emotional moments – from the opening death of Joel's daughter Sarah (Nico Parker), to the tragic end of Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Woodard) – and Season 2 promises to be just as scarring. The Last of Us: Part II was famously divisive when it came out on PlayStation – not least for one controversial moment, which we won't spoil here. But with the teaser showing Joel himself receiving counseling, it's entirely possible that by the time the season finale rocks around, we will all need therapy, too.

The Last of Us: Part II is a sprawling game, taking somewhere between 22 and 26 hours to complete. With so many characters, locales, and plot points, it's no surprise that Druckmann and Mazin have confirmed that the narrative will be split across multiple seasons: exactly how many we don't yet know. However, with so much material, the show could continue for years. In other words: suit up, it's going to be epic.

The Last Of Us Season 2 premieres in the States on HBO Max on 13th April, and in the UK on Sky TV on 14th April.