The Last of Us series showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann recently opened up about the series and what we can expect from it as the story continues to unfold.
During an interview with Deadline, it was revealed that Season 2 of the series will only consist of seven episodes. But, the long-term plan is to tell the full story over the course of three more seasons.
So, in total, if The Last of Us continues to do well with audiences, this will most likely end up being a will four-season show.
The first season of the series covered the events of the first game, but there’s so much content in the sequel, that they are looking to split it up into additional seasons.
Mazon explained: “The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons.
“When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”
Mazin went on to talk about the decision to go this brought saying: “We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story even within two seasons [2 and 3] because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in Season 1 too.
“We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — Season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require Season 4.”
Mazin added: “One thing is absolutely for sure, I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after Season 2 is complete in one more season.”
Mazin then talks about the seven-episode season 2 saying: “We just want to put people’s minds at ease that the idea that this season coming up is a little bit shorter than the first one is not because we’re taking less time to tell the stories, it’s because we want to take more time.
“The story that we’re telling is much bigger than the story of Season 1, there’s just a lot more going on, it’s a lot harder to produce but we want every episode to feel like its own blockbuster to be honest with you.”
One thing that Mazin and Dunkman won’t do is go beyond the source material. Mazin added: “As a fan, I’m thrilled that there might be a third Last of Us game. As the co-creator of this television show, there’s no world where I would want our show to go beyond the source material that people have in the world.
“Our show as people know it on HBO is going to cover the material from the second game and then quite a bit of material that is relevant to that story but, as I said, wanders down interesting new paths, unseen stories that were told within the context of that games material.”
Druckman added: “Our focus is the two games. As Craig mentioned, there’s quite a bit of material there that we’re taking our time with, and we’re looking at each piece individually to make sure it’s got its own arc, its own journey that the characters go on, but there is a grander plan that ties all the seasons together.”
Mazin and Druckmann also reveal that they have mapped out the entire TV series. Mazin said: “Pretty much, we have a pretty good concept of how that will work.
“I think what happens naturally when you really begin to focus on a season and where that natural breakpoint should occur then, who knows? It’s a good theory, once we put it in practice, who knows?”
He goes on to say: “We are committed to delivering people great seasons and arcs, and HBO was amazing about this. They let us pick that natural spot. Instead of us having to figure out how to create seasons around an artificial number, we create the length of the seasons around the story and how we are telling it.”
Druckmann also wants fans to know that there is no padding to the show, saying: “Our process was, we sketched out multiple seasons, then we did a deep dive on Season 2. To echo what Craig is saying, there is no padding, everything that is in there is intentional.
“There is always a goal in mind that we’re heading towards, we are never meandering the sake of meandering, it’s always to say something greater for these characters and the themes.”
The Last of Us Season 2 is currently in production, and when talking about his time directing, Mazon said: “I love making the show. I just finished my first full week of directing on Episode 1 of Season 2, and I couldn’t be happier or more excited. The scope of this thing is at times absolutely massive. And Season 3 promises to be just as big if not bigger.”
He added: “The first week of shooting on any new season of any show is inherently difficult because you’re getting back to work. You got to shake up the rust a little bit. We’re working with new actors playing new characters, we’re discovering new things and this week went about as well as I could have imagined.
“We did get to work with some of the new cast; they’re outstanding. And the material that we shot and the new elements that we’ve included are terrific. I’m just incredibly optimistic about what we’re doing here, and it’s only just begun. I think we are set to deliver something special. Hopefully that’s how it turns out.”
Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are back as Joel and Ellie and the returning cast also includes Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and Rutina Wesley as Maria.
New cast includes Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, and Danny Ramirez as Manny. Catherine O’Hara also guest stars.
The story takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed by a deadly virus. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a cure-searching organization.
What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse across the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.
The second season will be released in 2025.
Joey Paur
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