Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann share details about The Last of Us season 2

The Last of Us season 2 is currently in production at a brisk pace and while fans are eagerly awaiting to dive into the world that Joel and Ellie left them in at the end of season one.

The first season of The Last of Us follows the adventures of Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) as they travel across The United States to find the mysterious fireflies, a gang of revolutionaries attempting to overthrow the American military in the wake of a zombie apocalypse.

In an interview with Deadline, co-creator Craig Mazin explained that the story of The Last of Us Part II will take at least two, and possibly three, seasons to fully cover. And as a result, the show’s second season will be a few episodes shorter than the first, consisting of seven episodes unlike the first which had nine.

“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,” Mazin explained. “When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the natural breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”

According to the creators, there might be a potential third season in store which will be “significantly larger” and possibly bigger in scope, and there could very well be a Season 4 coming behind it.

“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,” Mazin said. “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.”

Season 2 will take place five years after Joel and Ellie’s dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, where the pair has settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. The new season is set for a 2025 premiere and will delve into the events of the 2020 sequel video game.

Apart from Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the upcoming season also stars Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Catherine O'Hara, Danny Ramirez, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Jeffrey Wright and Spencer Lord.