Video game franchise-turned-acclaimed HBO series returns in 2025
Today, September 26, marks The Last of Us Day, the annual event where fans celebrate the video game franchise-turned-HBO series; in the story, the virus outbreak that sparks its action takes place on this date.
As an added bonus for this year’s “Outbreak Day,” HBO and Max have shared a new teaser for the second season of The Last of Us, arriving in 2025. The grungy trailer — Pearl Jam’s “Future Days” soundtracks the two-minute preview, while Nirvana’s In Utero makes a cameo appearance — focuses on survivors’ solace and solitude before a wave of the infected storm their safe haven.
Like Season One, the series stars Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, with Isabel Merced, Kathryn Dever, Danny Ramirez, Jeffrey Wright, and Catherine O’Hara joining the cast for the upcoming season.
HBO said of Season Two in its synopsis, “After five years of peace following the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie’s collective past catches up to them, drawing them into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind.”
Following its debut season in 2023, the acclaimed The Last of Us racked up multiple nominations at both the Golden Globes and the Primetime Emmy Awards, with guest stars Nick Offerman and Storm Reid both winning Emmys in their respective Outstanding Supportive categories.