A new interview with Pedro Pascal has hinted at a possible release window for Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us series.
The TV adaptation of Naughty Dog's hit PlayStation franchise has proven to be a massive success for the network, as the world falls in love with Pascal's Joel Miller and Bella Ramsey's Ellie Williams.
It has been such a smash, in fact, that a Season 2 was greenlit before Season 1 was even finished airing. While the first season covered the events of the first game, the second will almost surely follow The Last of Us Part II, with showrunner Neil Druckmann recently revealing they have "no plans to tell any stories beyond adapting the game."
However, HBO has yet to lock down any sort of official release timing for the sophomore season.
Pedro Pascal Hints at The Last of Us Season 2
Fans may have their first hints at when they can expect Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us thanks to a recent interview with series star Pedro Pascal.
Speaking with Collider, the Last of Us and The Mandalorian actor revealed there is a chance that Season 2 of the hit HBO series begins filming in 2023. After dancing around the subject by asking "what season are we in now?" He eventually let slip "Yes, there is a chance. Yes.”
This is the first indication of where in the production pipeline Season 2 sits.
Season 1 started shooting back in July 2021, with the series finally airing in January 2023. That is an 18-month gap from the first day of filming to the premiere.
From this, it can be assumed that a similar amount of time will be taken for the second season's filming and post-production, giving a rough idea of when fans can expect the show's next installment.
With shooting potentially kicking off later this year, that could mean Season 2 may release as soon as early 2025.
Predicting The Last of Us Season 2 Release Date
With this information from series star Pedro Pascal, fans can now start opening their calendars and predicting when Season 2 of The Last of Us will hit HBO.
Accounting for the slower production schedule Season 1 is needed because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, so The Last of Us production will most likely be faster the second time around. Season 1 also sought to capture all seasons of the year to match the first game's settings, something the second season will not necessarily need to replicate to the same extent.
The Last of Us Season 1's 18-month production could potentially be squeezed down to 14-16 month production timeline once cameras start rolling for Season 2. This would put Season 2's debut sometime in January-March 2025, almost two years exactly from when Season 1 premiered.
This could be a lot sooner than some may expect if the series is going to beat-for-beat tackle the story of The Last of Us Part II. In the games, Ellie ages from 14 to 19 by the time the events of the sequel roll around.
One could suggest that there is no way Bella Ramsey's take on the character could believably make that same jump between seasons with such a short gap, but it is possible.
The actress was aged down for Season 1, making her look younger than she actually was. By the time Season 2 start shooting, Ramsey will be 20 years old, and with some excellent makeup work (which the series has), her character's look could be easily changed to better emulate the Ellie seen in the second game.
The Last of Us continues with Episode 8 on Sunday, March 5 on HBO at 9 p.m. ET.
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