The Last of Us

HBO announces further series for The Last of Us

HBO’s confirmation of series three comes just days before Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey return as Ellie and Joel for the second instalment.

The faithful adaptation of Naughty Dog’s game series The Last of Us follows the unlikely bond between 14-year-old Ellie and 40-year-old Joel in a post-apocalyptic world following a global pandemic. Believing her to be immune to the Cordyceps spores turning humans into evil half-mushrooms, they journey across a fungus-ridden America in the hopes of finding a cure.

Game on! What The Last of Us and Fallout teach us about video game adaptations

They walk through an abandoned room in low light, pointing a gun at the floor while holding a torch upright to investigate

Enter Netflix, waving big bucks. Its target is a homespun UK cartoon that went viral on YouTube and spawned a spin-off video game. The story’s creator takes the Netflix deal, leaving purist fans furious at her “sellout”. So furious that she winds up sprawled in the very graveyard where her story is set. Stabbed to death.

Phew! Yes, video game story arcs can be hot properties – witness The Last of Us, returning in triumph this month for series two – but are they really to die for?

Sky confirms air date for series two of The Last of Us

The two stand between abandoned, ruined cars covered in thick weeds and an abandoned city, its buildings in various states of disrepair and covered with overgrown foliage

Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian) and RTS award-winner Bella Ramsey (Game of Thrones) will both reprise their roles in the hit video game adaptation. In series one, broadcast in 2023, Joel (Pascal) was tasked with taking Ellie (Ramsey) across America after it had been ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. Ellie is immune to the ‘cordyceps’ disease, meaning she may be the secret to creating a vaccine that saves humanity.

The Last of Us series two confirmed for early 2025 release

Pedro Pascal, a Chilean-American man in his forties, and Bella Ramsey, a person in their late-teens in the image, stand side by side, looking at each other in front of a brick wall

The first series of the video game adaptation was broadcast in 2023, and followed Joel (Pedro Pascal, The Mandalorian) as he took teenager Ellie (Bella Ramsey, Game of Thrones) across a post-apocalyptic United States. Where most of humanity has fallen prey to a fungal infection, Ellie is immune to the ‘cordyceps’ disease. As such, the secret to creating a vaccine that could get the planet back to some semblance of normalcy may lie with her.

Sky releases long-awaited trailer for The Last of Us series two

Fans celebrate 26 September as The Last of Us day, as the cordyceps virus infected their apocalyptic dystopian world on 26 September 2003 and kicked off the events of the series. To commemorate, Sky has released the trailer for The Last of Us series two, featuring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey reprising their roles as Joel and Ellie.

In conversation with Zai Bennett

Watch our in conversation event with Sky UK & Ireland’s Managing Director of Content, Zai Bennett.

Zai talks to TV and radio broadcaster Nikki Bedi about his extraordinary career and how he oversees Sky’s award-winning slate of original programming such as Chernobyl, Gangs of London and I Hate Suzie, as well as their US content, including recent big hitters The Last of Us and Succession.