“It Is an Impossible Thing To Maintain”: ‘The Last of Us’ Creator Reveals if the Series Will Go Beyond the Games

The Last of Us Season 2 is almost here — and showrunner Craig Mazin can't wait, but make no mistake — this is it. Speaking with THR at SXSW in Austin, the Emmy-winning creator made one thing perfectly clear: the HBO hit will not outpace its source material. It’s a rare kind of clarity for an adaptation — and even rarer restraint — especially given the enormous success of The Last of Us Season 1. The show swept awards and shattered records for HBO, bringing the bleak, emotionally charged world of the PlayStation franchise to life with unexpected tenderness and grit. But the story told via console will not go any further.

“I am not going to go past the game,” Mazin said. “I’ll just say that flat out.” While co-creator Neil Druckmann hasn’t confirmed if a Part III video game is coming, Mazin’s focus remains squarely on telling the story as it exists. “The only question is: Is it going to be one more season or will it require two more?”

Now, Mazin says Season 2 is “a banger,” with expanded scale, more action, and deeper character arcs. “Our two core actors, Pedro [Pascal] and Bella [Ramsey], now occupy these characters completely,” he said. “We assembled this other group of actors who fit right in.”

The new season adapts The Last of Us Part II, a game which certainly has something of a polarizing reputation, and Mazin is fully embracing the challenge laid down before him. “This is the beating heart of this season,” he said of the emotional rift between Joel and Ellie after the Season 1 finale’s pivotal lie. “It is an impossible thing to maintain. The question is when, why, and how does that break?”

'The Last of Us' Season 2 Will Have A "Detour" Episode

Though Mazin confirmed there’s no “Very Special Episode” like Season 1’s standout “Long, Long Time,” there is a detour episode that shifts perspectives. But the seven-episode second season is focused on momentum, he explained.

“We just wanted to show how bad it could get. What is this about, what does this change, and what does this mean for our people moving forward?”

The Last of Us Season 2 premieres later this year on HBO. Stay tuned to Collider for more coverage as we get set to return to the Cordyceps-infected world, and all the challenges that it brings.