HBO Officially Confirmed The Last of Us’ Season 3 Fate, & It’s Much Worse Than I Thought

It's not all too often that a video game manages to translate into the realm of film or television when it receives an adaptation for the big or small screen. But against all odds, HBO's take on The Last of Us managed to capture the attention and acclaim from gamers and non-gamers alike, even earning multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations with the release of Season 1 back in 2023. It took nearly two years for Season 2 to finally hit the air, and even though it received a far more mixed reception from its audience, they were more than willing to forgive the two-year wait between seasons as it was widely understood that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes played a major role in the delay.

HBO Officially Confirmed The Last of Us' Season 3 Fate, & It's Much Worse Than I Thought

While it's been announced that the show will most definitely be returning for a third season, along with a potential fourth, its estimated premiere date has left many fans disappointed. With Season 3 not set to arrive until 2027, the show's fans are now being forced to stand another two-year wait thanks to the deliberately slower pacing of the show's production schedule, and I completely understand why so many are upset with it.

Season 2 Had a Real Excuse Behind its Production Delay

It Was Confirmed That the WGA & SAG-AFTRA Strikes Got in the Way of Its Development

Part of what has made The Last of Us such a faithful adaptation of the games is due to the fact that, up until recently, it's been driven in part by the man who created them to begin with. Neil Druckmann initially served as the series' co-showrunner alongside Craig Mazin, and while the two were on track to start filming the series later in 2023, only months after the Season 1 finale, they faced a serious developmental roadblock with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. The strikes caused a major shakeup in entertainment as a whole, as not only were actors unable to work and promote their other works that were being released at the same time, but the writers in the industry had also temporarily jumped ship, putting several upcoming projects on infinite hiatus.

Every Season of The Last of Us (so far)	Number of Episodes	Rotten Tomatoes Score
Season 1 (2023)	9	96%
Season 2 (2027)	7	91%

Although principal photography was set to start filming later in the year, Druckmann was quoted in Variety, saying, "We’ve outlined all of Season 2, and we’re ready to go as soon as the strike ends," and it took some time for the writers to catch up on finishing the scripts. Seeing how principal photography didn't start filming until the following year in February, it's likely that the season could've seen a much earlier release, perhaps sometime later in 2024, had the strikes never occurred.

With this in mind, I do find it a little concerning as to why the audience is going to have to wait just as long (or potentially even longer) for the release of Season 3. But after the recent news about the shakeup in the leadership of its creative crew, I can only speculate on a few reasons as to why that is.

What Is Really Going on With The Last of Us Season 3's Delay?

HBO Has Confirmed That It Won't Be Returning Until 2027

Kaitlyn Dever as Abby standing at a gravesite with her arms crossed in The Last of Us Season 2

Unlike Season 2, the next upcoming chapter of The Last of Us doesn't have the same excuse of actors and writers striking in solidarity over fair pay and improvement of working conditions as a reason behind its delay, but there does appear to be somewhat of an explanation behind it. Due to Druckmann's game-related endeavors at Naughty Dog, the creator has made the decision to part ways with the HBO series, effectively leaving Craig Mazin to take over as sole showrunner. Even though Casey Bloys, the CEO of HBO, admitted that he's "not worried at all" about how it'll affect the overall quality of the show, I can't help but feel a sense of frustration about what this will ultimately mean for the show behind the scenes.

A lot of people don't realize that Neil has a full-time job creating video games and running Naughty Dog. It's a really big job that he's got. So I understand why he needs to focus on that. But I believe he's given us a good blueprint with the show. And obviously Craig is a pro, so I think we'll be in excellent shape. I'm not worried at all.

Confirmed Cast Members Returning for The Last of Us Season 3	Role
Kaitlyn Dever	Abby
Bella Ramsay	Ellie
Isabella Merced	Dina
Gabriel Luna	Tommy
Jeffrey Wright	Isaac

Although Mazin has been credited as the sole writer for most of the episodes, part of the reason the production of the first season went so well (which more than likely would've also been the case for Season 2 if the strikes hadn't happened) was the partnership between him, Druckmann, and co-writer Halley Gross. With Gross having also left the show, Mazin is now the only one steering the ship, which is clearly not ideal for a show as big as this one.

I understand that good TV takes time, but given how other shows, including similarly big-budgeted ones with stories told on such a massive scale, such as Game of Thrones, and even several network shows with smaller budgets, have been able to turn out a product of consistent quality on a yearly basis in the past, a line needs to be drawn on the amount of time it should really take. Making an audience wait for another season of television for about as long as they would normally wait for a movie is something that has had a sad effect on both the state of TV overall and the patience of its audience.

I Really Hope Season 3's Delay is All Worth It in the End

After Making the Fans Wait So Long For a Full Season, Abby's Story Needs to Keep the Fans Invested

It's been announced that, much like how the Part II video game switches perspectives from Ellie to Abby, a majority of Season 3's storyline will be focusing on the latter. Given the level of hatred that the character has received from viewers (especially those unfamiliar with the games) for the way she killed Joel in such a brutal fashion, although the show will likely try to paint her as a more sympathetic and understandable figure just as the games did, some may feel there's no way they'll want to see any kind of redemption for her. However, if the show truly wants to maintain its audience's interest after making them wait so long for the next chapter, it will need to do something extremely compelling with the way it handles Abby's story.

Shifting and exploring a new perspective from a character like Abby, who only appeared in three out of Season 2's seven episodes total, and essentially turning her into the lead of Season 3 is certainly a clever way of offering up something new and different for the series. It's these kinds of bold moves that recapture an audience's intrigue, and I can only hope that it's all done so in an engaging way.

When TV audiences are forced to wait as long as The Last of Us' third season is currently making them, they slowly begin to lose interest, and the probability of them tuning in again becomes less and less. This is something that has caused many fans of shows like Stranger Things to jump ship, with the current level of hype surrounding the fifth and final season being perhaps not so surprisingly low after a three-and-a-half-year period between seasons. As much as fans like me dread the thought of having to wait such an extensive amount of time for something that arguably shouldn't take as long to make as it's clearly going to, I just hope not only will The Last of Us still be able to give HBO subscribers the kind of high-grade storytelling that they deserve, but that the wait never gets any longer and that it'll be worth it by the time it finally premieres.