The Last of Us fans hit with disappointing release update for season three

HBO’s hit video game adaptation was renewed for a third season before season two even premiered

The Last of Us fans can likely expect a long wait for season three of HBO’s acclaimed video game adaptation.

Season two of the post-apocalyptic drama drew to a “disappointing” close last week, as Bella Ramsey’s Ellie finally confronted vengeful killer Abby (Kaitlyn Dever).

Despite mixed viewer reactions, the show had already been renewed for a third season ahead of the season two premiere. Similar to the game, the forthcoming season is expected to shift to Abby’s perspective.

At a May 23 press conference, according to Vulture, co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann admitted they still aren’t sure how much viewers can expect to see characters Ellie, Dina (Isabela Merced), Tommy (Gabriel Luna), and Jesse (Young Mazino) in the next season — which probably means they haven’t completed writing it.

This theory appeared to be further confirmed by Ramsey, who recently told Variety they hadn’t yet “seen any scripts.”

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal in 'The Last of Us' season two (HBO)

Asked whether their character would take on a smaller role in season three, the British actor, 21, said: “I haven’t seen any scripts, but yes, I do expect that. I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch. We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”

“All I can say is we haven’t seen the last of Kaitlyn Dever and we haven’t seen the last of Bella Ramsey, and we haven’t seen the last of Isabela Merced, and we haven’t seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story,” Mazin additionally told the outlet, with Druckmann teasing: “Whether you will see them on screen or not, their presence will be there throughout.”

Speaking in April about the show’s future, Mazin assured fans that he is “not going to go past the game.”

“I’ll just say that flat out,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “So if people are thinking, ‘Oh, these guys are planning the old cash grab thing…’”

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He added: “I’m basically setting a decade of my rapidly dwindling life on fire to tell this story. The show is so hard to make. It has to have an end. So I’m not going to go past.”

Mazin went on to suggest that a potential spin-off show might be made in the future by another filmmaker.

“Who knows me, there might be a Dunk and Egg The Last of Us show that happens that somebody does,” he said, referring to the upcoming Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, based on George RR Martin’s Tales of Dunk and Egg stories.

“But for me, the only question is: Is it going to be one more season or will it require two more? If this can happen all in one more season, great,” he said. “If we feel like it makes sense to break it into two, then we will do that.”