The first season of The Last of Us wrapped up just over a week ago, but the second season isn't likely to arrive until late 2024 or early 2025.
As reported by The Independent, Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie in the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us, recently appeared on The Jonathan Ross Show in the UK to discuss the post-apocalyptic drama and warn fans that they might not see a new episode for almost two years.
"It will be a while," Ramsey said of season two's arrival. "I think we'll probably shoot at the end of this year, beginning of next. So it'll probably be at the end of 2024, early 2025."
The second season will adapt Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II, and showrunner Craig Mazin has already said that the events of the second game cover "more than a season's worth of television," implying that they could yet split the sequel into two or more seasons.
Mazin and executive producer Neil Druckmann have also teased that Season 2 will feature moments that are "radically different" from the game and will likely have much more action and more infected, with multiple types of infected emerging as the series goes on.
The Last of Us Episode 9: TV Show vs Game Comparison
The Last of Us hit the ground running in January, achieving HBO's second-best debut of the last decade. It continued to grow stronger, with the series averaging 30.4 million viewers across the first six episodes and the finale bringing in the largest audience of the season.
IGN called the Season 1 finale of The Last of Us "a thrillingly faithful adaptation of one of video games' greatest endings," though also noted that it didn't "pack quite the same punch as the original" despite being "wonderfully shot and hauntingly soundtracked" throughout.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.