Work on ‘The Last Of Us’ will begin immediately after strikes end

Work on HBO‘s The Last Of Us season two will being “the second” the ongoing Hollywood strikes come to an end, according to showrunner Craig Mazin.

• READ MORE: ‘The Last Of Us’ review: an apocalyptically good video game port

Today (September 25), Mazin took to Threads to share the update following the recent news that the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has reached a tentative deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) to end the writers strike that began in May.

“Very proud of the WGA and its membership, and excited to get back to work on The Last of Us Season 2. The strike has not yet been officially lifted, but the second it is, we will spring into action!,” Mazin wrote on Threads.

Craig Mazin, the showrunner for ‘The Last Of Us,’ has announced that Season 2 production will resume as soon as the WGA strike is over.

“Very proud of the WGA and its membership … The strike has not yet been officially lifted, but the second it is, we will spring into action” pic.twitter.com/GmTUa4iJ1S

— Episodes (@episodesent) September 25, 2023

Mazin’s comments on The Last Of Us season two’s production comes a month after he teased that his and The Last Of Us creator Neil Druckmann’s vision for the HBO series could see it last anywhere between three to five seasons, though he thinks “four seems like a good number”.

“[The Last Of Us] can end up being three or five. But four seems like a good number. Some seasons, because of the story we’re telling, will need fewer episodes and some will need more. The best news is the audience wants more,” Mazin said.

The Last Of Us season two will be a particularly difficult season to film, as it’s set five years after the events of the first game and season. Besides the time factor, the story is told from two perspectives: Ellie (Bella Ramsey), and a new antagonist/protagonist Abby, who has yet to be cast. When asked if the role of Abby had already been set, Mazin replied with a simple “maybe”.

HBO’s The Last Of Us scored rave reviews earlier this year, with NME‘s Alex Flood scoring it four stars. Flood wrote: “Gamers have been burned before by poorly conceived adaptations of their favourite titles, so they were naturally skeptical. But they needn’t have been. The Last Of Us lacks novel ideas, but when it’s this good it can get away with it.”