The Last Of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has confirmed that the show will need a season 4 to adapt Naughty Dog’s acclaimed videogame sequel.
Major spoilers ahead for season 2, episode 2 of The Last Of Us.
Back in March, Craig Mazin offered some relief to fans of The Last Of Us when he confirmed that the acclaimed HBO series wouldn’t venture past the narrative endpoint of its videogame counterpoint. Well, relief to fans of the game series anyway. Those out there who are simply enjoying the TV show without any knowledge of where things are headed might breezily wish for as many seasons as possible, whereas those who have played both of Naughty Dog’s legendary survival horror games will understand the value of a well-crafted ending.
There was some uncertainty about whether the show – currently heading towards its season 2 finale – would need another one or two seasons to adapt the events of The Last Of Us Part II. Mazin has now spoken up to offer his thoughts and it seems to be good news for those of you wanting more, with the showrunner suggesting that another two seasons will be needed to tell the story in the way that he and creator, Neil Druckmann wish to.
Speaking to Collider, Mazin talked about the difficulty of trying to tell a more expansive story in season 2 because of the shadow cast by Joel’s unexpected death. “There are natural perforations in the narrative where you can go, ‘Okay, let’s tear it here.’ I think there’s a decent chance that season 3 will be longer than season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different,” he argues. “The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story.”
As for season 3, though, Mazin suggests that with that seismic moment in the rear view mirror, he and Druckmann want to widen the story’s aperture once again, which means more world building which in turn, means more episodes. In short, a fourth season. “I’m not sure that will necessarily be true for season 3. I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in [season 4]. That’s the most likely outcome.”
That’s also – we think – the best possible outcome for this series. Continuing past the endpoint of the game’s narrative would be foolhardy when it’s deemed to be such a perfect endpoint by those who have experienced it. So getting more of The Last Of Us but in a fashion that stays true to the source material? That sounds like the perfect ticket.
We’ll bring you more details on the show’s next two seasons as we hear it.
