Posted in: HBO, Max, TV | Tagged: the last of us

The Last of Us Recaps Joel's Journey; Pascal on "Ambitious" Season 2

Along with a recap of Joel's journey, Pedro Pascal, Craig Mazin, and Neil Druckmann of The Last of Us discuss the "ambitious" second season.

After getting a look at the official trailer for the second season of Showrunners and EPs Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann's Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey-starring The Last of Us over this past weekend as part of the series' SCSW panel, HBO is giving viewers a chance to recap and reflect on Joel's journey during the first season before things get brutal beginning next month."It's definitely a bigger, far more ambitious, and risk-taking season," Pascal shared with Empire about the upcoming season. "And, if it can even be imagined, further tests our strength against a world we're already afraid to be in."

The dangers the duo will be facing have also grown – and include some disturbing new forms of cordyceps. "All I'll say is that for the people who want to see more of the infected… Buckle up!" Mazin teased. "You get to see a different evolution of this infection. It's kept certain parts of their brain alive, so they are smarter. They coordinate and hide and do things that we've never seen any other infected do on this show," Druckmann added.

The Last of Us Season 2 Makes Changes But Part II "DNA Is In There"

Along with the news of some major additions to the hit HBO series' cast, Mazin and Druckmann spoke with Variety this past week on a wide range of topics related to the upcoming second season. One of those topics discussed related to the changes that Mazin and Druckmann made from the video game's "Part II" to bring things to live-action series life – like the addition of Catherine O'Hara as Joel's therapist, fleshing out a backstory on "Part II" character Eugene (set to be played by Joe Pantoliano), and going with a different physical take on Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), for example.

Though expectations were high for the first season, they're even more so as the series heads in "Part II" territory. So, how are Mazin and Druckmann feeling about the possibility of some toxic social media pushback on the changes that they made? Based on what they went through to get "Part II" finished and to get the first season of the HBO series onto small screens, it sounds like Druckmann is feeling confidently ready for it. "I love the changes that we've made," Druckmann shared. "It's a different version of that story, but its DNA is in there. Maybe more than excited, I'm really curious what their reaction will be."

In terms of the bigger picture, how long does the duo see the series running? "It feels like we've got one or two more seasons," Mazin added, reaffirming what he and Druckmann had shared previously about their take on "Part II" needing more than one season. "It's getting harder to make because every episode gets big. You don't want to wait four years for a 17-episode finish, or whatever it is."

With Season 2 set to hit HBO & Max screens in April 2025, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will be joined this season by Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Rutina Wesley as Maria, Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, Isabela Merced as Dina, Young Mazino as Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Jeffrey Wright as Isaac, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and Catherine O'Hara as Joel's therapist. In addition, Joe Pantoliano, Alanna Ubach, Ben Ahlers, Hettienne Park, Robert John Burke, and Noah Lamanna have joined the cast.

Pantoliano is set to play Eugene, a character referenced in the video game but now set to be fully fleshed out during the second season of the live-action series. Burke is set to play Seth, who runs a bar in the Jackson, Wyoming, community where Ellie and Joel live following the events of the first season. Lamanna is set as Kat, who dated Ellie before the events of the second video game. As for new additions to the story's cast, Ubach has been tapped to play a character named Hanrahan, while Ahlers plays a character named Burton, and Park is set for a character named Elise.

Behind the camera, Mazin and Druckmann will be joined by Peter Hoar (S01E03: "Long, Long Time") are Mark Mylod (HBO's Succession), Nina Lopez-Corrado (HBO's Perry Mason), Stephen Williams (HBO's Watchmen) and Kate Herron (Loki). HBO's The Last of Us is written and executive-produced by Mazin and Druckmann. The series is a co-production with Sony Pictures Television and is also executive-produced by Carolyn Strauss, Jacqueline Lesko, Cecil O'Connor, Asad Qizilbash, Carter Swan, and Evan Wells. PlayStation Productions, Word Games, The Mighty Mint, and Naughty Dog serve as the production companies.

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