The Last of Us set photos reveal new insight into future seasons

How will The Last of Us season 2 split time between Ellie and Abby, two of the main characters from the video game? New set photos might provide clues.

Photos taken during the filming of HBO’s The Last of Us this summer give major clues as to what the show’s direction will be for its second and third seasons, which will cover the events of Naughty Dog's video game The Last of Us Part II. We’re here to speculate alongside you and fill in some blanks.

We know the second season will take the story to post-apocalyptic Seattle, which is where Ellie and other characters travel in the second game, looking for newcomer Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). We also know that the show will split the events of that game over at least two seasons, and that the second season will have only seven episodes. In the game, players take on the roles of both Ellie (Bella Ramsey) and Abby, who are working against each other for reasons we won't spoil here. However, we don’t know how far the second season will get in this journey or how the show will handle the split perspective; will it cut back and forth between Ellie and Abby, or will we see everything in season 2 from Ellie's perspective before switching to Abby in season 3?

Thanks to a photo leaked on Reddit, we know a little more. This photo shows Bella Ramsey in character as Ellie alongside series newcomer Young Mazino, who plays Ellie's friend Jesse. They’re standing on an overcast street wearing weathered rain gear, suggesting that the show is filming the Seattle section of Ellie's journey.

Meanwhile, we haven't yet seen any pictures of Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in that kind of location. This suggests that HBO’s The Last of Us has chosen to stay true to the game’s version of events, depicting Ellie's story first and then switching to Abby’s in season 3.

That's not a guarantee — it's possible that photos of Dever as Abby in Seattle simply haven't gotten out — but that's our guess. We’ll just have to follow along next year with bated breath as Ellie makes her way toward the aquarium where Abby is hiding out. Until that time, there’s only one thing we know for sure: experiencing The Last of Us is no less stressful the second time around. Expect the second season to air on HBO sometime early in 2025.