Fans are eagerly awaiting Season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us, but a recent report will likely disappoint those waiting for the release date of the upcoming installment.
HBO already confirmed that its apocalyptic TV series The Last of Us will be back for a second season, which will be based on The Last of Us Part II, the second installment of the popular video game franchise.
Series creator Craig Mazin already revealed in July that Season 2 would be in jeopardy if the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) strikes continued "much longer."
The Last of Us Season 2's Release Update
In an interview on Entertainment Weekly's The Awardist podcast, HBO's The Last of Us creator Craig Mazin talked about where Season 2 of the show currently stands amidst the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
All writers and actors that are credited on The Last of Us Season 2 are not allowed to resume their work until the strikes are over, but Mazin stated that those working "below the line" are able to continue.
However, the show's creator did discouragingly reveal that it is "a near certainty" that filming will not start when they intended it to due to the strikes, which, in his eyes, "is upsetting:"
"To the extent that we can keep anybody below the line working, that's fantastic. I think it's becoming essentially a near certainty that we won't be able to start [filming] when we were hoping to start, which is upsetting."
It is important to note that Mazin and HBO were aiming to start filming Season 2 in early 2024. Since it is impossible to predict how long the strikes will continue and how much production will be delayed, fans can expect the release date for the upcoming installment to be moved back from the intended release window of early/spring 2025 to the second half of the year at the earliest, potentially in fall 2025.
Mazin did state in his interview that he and the rest of the crew "are all raring to go," and pointed out that they aren't making this show "for money:"
"We are all raring to go. This is what we are born to do. This is how we not only choose to live our lives, but I believe [how we] are compelled to live our lives. Otherwise, why the hell would we do this insane job? I can assure you it's not for money."
The creator also provided an update on what was able to get done before the strikes occurred, which included the entirety of Season 2 being "[mapped] out." He was even able to "submit the script for the first episode" to HBO prior to the start of the strike:
"We were able to map out all of season 2. And I also wrote and submitted the script for the first episode and sent it in [to HBO] around 10:30 or 10:40 p.m. right before the midnight and the strike began."
Also of note is that some of the crew are able to continue their work due to the outline that Mazin submitted as well as the script for Episode 1.
When Will The Last of Us Season 2 Actually Begin Filming?
The writers' and actors' strikes bring so much uncertainty to the entertainment industry that it is impossible to predict exactly when filming will begin for Season 2 of The Last of Us.
However, as productions stay halted and more upcoming titles continue to have their filming dates delayed, something will eventually have to give way and that is when developments in this entire process will start to occur.
Assuming that all parties involved in the strikes begin negotiations and an agreement is made by the end of the year, then Season 2 of The Last of Us could realistically begin filming around the middle of 2024.
If the strikes were to last longer into the early months of 2024, then it would be a different story, and production wouldn't be able to start until the later months of the year.
Season 1 of The Last of Us is currently available to stream on Max.
