Next month, The Last of Us may take home a handful of Emmy Awards for the HBO original series. However, showrunner Craig Mazin is already looking ahead to working on Season 3. And for anyone who felt Season 2 was too short, Mazin promises that Season 3 will rectify that.
While speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Mazin declined to say whether the pacing of Season 3 will mirror Season 2. However, he did say, “Season 3 will be longer than Season 2. Season 3 will be more on par with Season 1. More bang for the buck.”
Mazin also acknowledged his former co-showrunner Neil Druckmann, who recently announced his departure from the series. According to Mazin, there won’t be a drastic change to the show due to Druckmann’s absence.
“I was pretty much a monk just writing in a room by myself for most of the time regardless,” said Mazin. “And I’ve gotten so much out of talking with [Naughty Dog] over the course of Seasons 1 and 2. When we made Season 2, we really were thinking about what comes after because you can’t really tell half of that story without thinking about what the whole story should be. So we really did get that work in. Neil’s always had a full-time job running Naughty Dog, so it’s always been me up in Canada [where the production is], and ultimately, things are pretty much going to proceed as usual.”
Laura Bailey, the actress who originated the role of Abby in The Last of Us Part 2, recently praised the performance of her live-action counterpart, Kaitlyn Dever. Season 3 will focus on Abby’s story with a larger role for Dever. HBO has indicated that it will release the third season in 2027.