‘The Last of Us’ Season 2 First Look: Joel and Ellie Return

Joel and Ellie are back in the first photos for the eagerly anticipated second season of HBO’s The Last of Us.

The photos featuring stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey were first revealed during the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation in New York City on Wednesday.

The debut season set a record as HBO’s most-watched first season for any series on the service, plus garnered eight Emmy awards.

The second season will be released in 2025. The returning cast also includes Gabriel Luna as Tommy, and Rutina Wesley as Maria.

Previously announced 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 Last of Us is written and executive produced by Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann and is based on the critically acclaimed video game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation consoles.

Previously, Mazin said online theories about season two based on hints in the first season and the video game are mostly incorrect: “I’ve been monitoring things on the internet a little bit, people are very clever, they like to see where we’re shooting and then they have all these brilliant theories about what it means,” Mazin said on his Scriptnotes podcast. “I wish I could put my arm around each one of them and say, ‘No.’ Most of the theories are incorrect, some of them are halfway correct, some of the conjecture is like 28% correct.”

The story “takes place 20 years after modern civilization has been destroyed. Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the U.S. and depend on each other for survival.”