The Last of Us Season 2 has a 2025 release date, Max confirms

Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie in The Last of Us — (Image credit: HBO)

The Last of Us season 2 is officially coming out in 2025 – and we have two years to prepare for another emotionally devastating batch of episodes.

Max released its annual "The One to Watch" trailer, which teases clips and release dates of forthcoming shows. While we didn't get a first look or teaser (because it hasn't started filming yet), we got the official confirmation that TLOU season 2 is set to hit the streaming platform in 2025. The season is set to start filming in early 2024.

Pedro Pascal will be back as Joel, with Bella Ramsey back as Ellie – with one especially important new character set to enter the mix. The Last of Us season 2 is set to follow the (arguably even more heart-wrenching and emotionally devastating) storyline of The Last of Us 2 video game. The second installment, which has a five-year time jump, stars Ellie and playable new character Abbie, and without giving anything away, let's just say she's essential to, er, driving what happens next over the course of Ellie's post-apocalyptic life.

Kaitlyn Dever, who was linked to playing Ellie years prior to the casting of Bella Ramsey, is rumored to be the frontrunner for Abby. Ironically, Dever was one of the most fan-cast actors for Ellie before the show's release. We'll just have to wait and see.

"We’re certainly also going to push the technology that we use forward," showrunner Craig Mazin previously told Deadline of the new season. "We learned so much, particularly in regard to the infected and how to better deliver scenes with them. So, we’re just going to keep moving the bar up and up and up. That’s kind of our call to arms."

For more, check out the new TV shows and movie release dates on the way in the next few months.

Lauren Milici is a Senior Entertainment Writer for GamesRadar+ based in New York City. She previously reported on breaking news for The Independent's Indy100 and created TV and film listicles for Ranker. Her work has been published in Fandom, Nerdist, Paste Magazine, Vulture, PopSugar, Fangoria, and more.