Highlights
- The Last of Us season 2 production is ongoing with showrunner Craig Mazin giving vague responses to fan theories on leaked set photos.
- The new season will follow the more controversial narrative of The Last of Us Part 2, with Emmy winners Craig Mazin and Mark Mylod directing.
- Fans are speculating how the show will incorporate the unique narrative structure of the game into the episodic format of the series.
HBO’s The Last of Us season 2 production is in full swing, and showrunner Craig Mazin had a vague response to the circulating fan theories surrounding leaked set photos.
Created by Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the critically acclaimed The Last of Us started filming season 2 in Vancouver, Canada on February 12 after industry strikes caused production delays, with a wrap-up set for August 21. While The Last of Us season 1 followed and expanded upon the story and characters of the award-winning video game, season two will follow the narrative of the more controversial The Last of Us Part 2. Because of The Last of Us Part II‘s complex story, fans have developed theories on how the show’s second season will adapt the material, with some believing the series will change the narrative structure.
In Mazin’s March 12 return to his podcast Scriptnotes, co-hosted with John August, he provides an update on how The Last of Us season 2 filming is coming along, saying he’s nearly done directing the first episode of the season. While he hints that a few days are left in different locations, he hasn’t shied away from peeking at the internet and its “clever” fans, who have begun piecing together theories on what’s to come based on pictures of where the crew has been filming. “I wish I could put my arm around each one of them and say ‘No.’ Most of the theories are incorrect, some of them are half ways correct, some of the conjecture is like 28% correct, but I do enjoy it all.” He seemingly thinks the speculation is fun just as much as the fans do, even if what they know of what’s to come is a dark depressive cloud looming over them.
After a standstill of forgiveness from the end of the first game, Part II follows Ellie’s quest for revenge after witnessing the brutal untimely death of Joel at the hands of Abby, who was coincidentally on her own revenge path. The Last of Us Part 2 got a lot of flack for switching perspectives halfway through the game at Ellie and Abby’s climatic meeting, rewinding time so the player is now in control of Abby in the time before Ellie finds her, allowing Abby the chance to garner sympathy over time after having nothing but hate for the character. This unusual narrative structure—which works well for the emotions it tries to convey—makes fans wonder how Mazin and Druckmann will incorporate it into the show, considering Part 2 is twice as long and will be split across more than one season, with The Last of Us season 2 rumored to have seven episodes. Since the game has flashbacks to heartfelt moments between Joel and Ellie, the show can still utilize Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in more ways than a somber opening. While the show is sure to remain true to its roots, the question remains on how exactly it will be told in an episodic format.
Mazin continued to say that while he’s done with his directing duties for now, he’s happily sitting back in his showrunner role watching the second episode unfold, which by production rumors, seems likely to be helmed by Succession director Mark Mylod. So far, The Last of Us season 2 set videos and photos have shown a snowy town setting that may be the game’s town of Jackson where a party happens, a house that may be Joel’s, and a rental property near a golf course that looks eerily similar to Joel’s final resting place. Since productions tend to film scenes out of order, it’s hard for fans to definitively decide if Joel’s demise will be shown in the first couple of episodes, causing a scramble of ideas. And, with Mazin’s wise generalized response to most theories being wrong, the fans are likely now wondering which theories are “halfway” correct.
The Last of Us season 2 is currently in production
Source: Scriptnotes
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