The Last of Us season 3 may or may not be the end, as the horror show could wrap up with "two more seasons or one more long season," says HBO boss

Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us season 2 episode 6
(Image credit: HBO)

The Last of Us continues to follow the path laid out by Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part 2, but co-creator Craig Mazin is apparently still undecided on whether the HBO series will wrap up next season or not.

In an interview with Variety, HBO boss Casey Bloys addressed the future of The Last of Us, which has undergone some creative shake-ups in recent weeks – as well as nailing down a release window for The Last of Us season 3.

"The series is definitely planned for 2027. Craig is still working it out whether it will be two more seasons or one more long season," Bloys said. "It hasn’t been decided yet, and I’m following Craig’s lead on that."

Previously, Mazin told GamesRadar+ in mid-April that he would "take a few weeks" before heading back to writing.

"Then if there's one thing I know about myself, I will be absolutely champing at the bit to get back to the keyboard," Mazin said.

Now, though, Mazin is without a couple of his key collaborators. Both co-creator Neil Druckmann and writer/producer Halley Gross have stepped back from the HBO series to focus on their day jobs at Naughty Dog, particularly with the arrival of Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

"I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO," Druckmann said in a message shared on social media, while also describing his time on the show as an "honor" and a "career highlight."

"With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative."

For more, discover the new PS5 games and new TV shows currently in the works.

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Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.

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