In the 11 years since the video game The Last of Us was released, fans have celebrated “Outbreak Day,” also known as the day the Cordyceps virus outbreak set the course of the story’s events on September 26. This year’s celebrations were particularly special with HBO’s release of the first official teaser for the second season of its record-breaking show of the same name.

Fans have anxiously awaited the second season of the post-apocalyptic series since the conclusion of the first season in March 2023 (see the first season recap here) to see how it would depict the events of the second game. The teaser, while having momentary glimpses of joy and calm, sets a chilling atmosphere with flashes of violence and of course, the infected, preparing audiences for what’s to come in the continuation of this story.

What Will Season 2 Be About?

The second season of The Last of Us is expected to adapt the events of the video game’s sequel The Last of Us Part II, released in 2020. According to Warner Brother Discovery’s logline for this season: “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”

This upcoming season will have seven episodes, two shorter than the first, and it is not expected to cover the entirety of the story of Part II. Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have stated that the story would be told across multiple seasons, anticipating 3 or 4 seasons total.

In an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2023, Mazin and Druckmann discussed how the show may deviate in some ways from the game.

“It will be different just as this season was different [from the first game],” said Mazin. “Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it will be [barely] different at all. But it’s going to be different and it will be its own thing. It won’t be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make.”

Who’s in Season 2?

In the teaser, we see Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning for their roles as Joel and Ellie, along with a highly anticipated glimpse at some new characters joining the cast this season. Among them are some of the key characters in the second part of this story: Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), Dina (Isabela Merced), and Jesse (Young Mazino).

Here is the complete list of casting announcements so far, with both new and returning cast members.

• Pedro Pascal as Joel
• Bella Ramsey as Ellie
• Kaitlyn Dever as Abby
• Young Mazino as Jesse
• Isabela Mecred as Dina
• Danny Ramirez as Manny
• Spencer Lord as Owen
• Jeffrey Wright as Isaac
• Tati Gabrielle as Nora
• Ariela Barer as Mel
• Catherine O’Hara as a character yet to be announced

When is it Coming Out?

The Last of Us Season 2 is slated for release in 2025, though no specific date has been given.