The second season of HBO’s The Last of Us ends this coming Sunday with a finale that seemingly tees up a confrontation we’ve been waiting for all season. However, it’s clear season two will leave us with a lot of story left when it’s over. While many fans predicted that a third season, which has already been greenlit, could finish the story, showrunner Craig Mazin alludes to needing a fourth season to wrap up the events of The Last of Us Part II.
In a new interview with Collider, Mazin explains, “there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season” when asked about a theoretical fourth season.
Spoilers For Season Two Of HBO’s The Last Of Us
“I think there’s a decent chance Season 3 will be longer than Season 2, just because the manner of that narrative and the opportunities it affords us are a little different,” Mazin, who is also a director and writer on the show, told Collider. “The thing about Joel’s death is that it’s so impactful. It’s such a narrative nuclear bomb that it’s hard to wander away from it. We can’t really take a break and move off to the side and do a Bill and Frank story.
“I’m not sure that will be necessarily true for Season 3. I think we’ll have a little more room there. But certainly, there’s no way to complete this narrative in a third season. Hopefully, we’ll earn our keep enough to come back and finish it in a fourth. That’s the likely outcome.”
Though it seems like Mazin and the team behind the show are still waiting to see if a fourth season will be greenlit, which likely depends on the reception of season three, it’s clear he believes a fourth season is needed to finish the story of The Last of Us Part II. It also sounds like we can expect a Bill and Frank-style episode in season three.
Regardless, this theoretical fourth season is years away. In the meantime, read about Game Informer’s boring but tense set visit to HBO’s The Last of Us, and then read Game Informer’s exclusive interview with Neil Druckmann about season two.
Is a fourth season necessary to complete the story? Let us know in the comments below!
