The Last of Us showrunner hints that a season 4 could be necessary to tell the entire story

The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin has said he hopes the acclaimed dystopian series will run for at least two more seasons to allow for the completion of the show’s narrative.

The first season of the show, which was based on the best-selling 2013 video game of the same name, debuted on HBO in 2023.

The second season began last month and will reach its conclusion with its seventh episode this weekend. It is based on the 2020 video game sequel The Last of Us Part II, but is still not close to bringing that game’s full story to the screen.

Speaking to Collider, Mazin explained that “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 a fourth.”

He also hinted that the third season would feature more episodes than the second.

Asked by the publication about why the writers chose to end season two where it does, Mazin responded: “We always think ahead. We thought ahead to Season 3 and Season 4, to try to get as much visibility as we can, so that we don’t end up in a situation where we’re sitting down and getting into details for a season and then going, ‘Oh, man, if only we hadn’t had that person say that one line or be in that spot or wear that jacket, this would be so much cooler.’

“So, we really do try to think things through fundamentally. The challenge for our first season was, how do we tell this big story in a way that’s complete and doable within an amount of time and with the budget we have? And with this season, it was, ‘Okay, this source material goes way beyond one season.’”

Asked about how many episodes he foresees future episodes having, Mazin replied: “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.”

*Major spoilers for The Last of Us Season 2 follow*

Mazin continued: “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. 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 a fourth. That’s the most likely outcome.”