HBO confirms long wait ahead for The Last of Us season 3, plus major creative changes

It's official: HBO boss Casey Bloys confirmed to Variety that The Last of Us won't return until 2027. Between that and the premiere of Harry Potter, 2027 is shaping up to be a major year for HBO.

Moving forward, The Last of Us will make significant changes onscreen and behind the scenes. Pedro Pascal's role as Joel is mostly wrapped. The story will move forward by showing us the events of season 2 from Abby's point of view, exploring the ongoing tension between her and Ellie (Bella Rasmey). As for the behind-the-scenes changes, expect a huge creative shift as Naughty Dog lead and The Last of Us game co-creator Neil Druckmann exits to refocus on the gaming world, leaving the HBO show in the capable hands of co-showrunner Craig Mazin.

Bloys expressed understanding about Druckmann's prior commitments, noting that he has "a full time job creating video games and running Naughty Dog." Specifically, Druckmann plans to dive into Naughty Dog's next big game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, a futuristic sci-fi story. Although he'll no longer be directly involved with the HBO adaptation, Bloys reassured fans that Druckmann has left behind a solid "blueprint" for them to follow. With a strong foundation in place, Bloys seems confident that the quality of the Emmy-winning series won't falter.

Not to mention that Bloys credits Mazin's career-defining work on the miniseries Chernobyl as the main reason he wanted to hire him for The Last of Us adaptation anyway. "Obviously Craig is a pro, so I think we’ll be in excellent shape. I’m not worried at all."

Moving onto the Emmy Awards, the second season of The Last of Us secured 16 nominations ahead of this year's ceremony, one each for Ramsey and Pascal, though Pascal's nomination in one of the lead categories has drawn some ire since he was more of a guest star this time around. Nonetheless, the series has cemented its status as prestige television and it'll be exciting to see how things progress in season 3 as focus shifts to Abby, just as it does halfway through the second game.

With Dever taking on a larger role, it might mean less overall screen time for Ramsey, but Bloys doesn't show any concern about that, at least "from a marketing perspective." He appreciates shows that are willing to take risks and change to different perspectives.

A 2027 release date means a lengthy wait, but it falls in line with the previous season-to-season release date structure. Over two years passed between seasons 1 and 2 and I expect it will be similar for the season 2- to-season 3 hiatus, especially if, as Bloys suggests, Mazin opts to do "one more long season" vs. two shorter seasons. If that's the case, then the scale of the production will significantly expand.

HBO is clearly invested in seeing the story through to the end, and Bloys' confidence in Mazin's ability to finish strong should comfort any fans who feel apprehensive about Druckmann stepping back.