Oof, are you still recovering from the season 2 finale of The Last of Us? Personally, I’m still recovering from *SPOILERS* Joel’s death in episode 2 of season 2, let alone the rest of the season. Bleak, depressing stories are kind of par for the course when it comes to this show since it tells the story of a violent society ravaged by a zombie apocalypse. But still, season 2 was rough. And it ended with the monumental cliffhanger of Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) shooting Ellie (Bella Ramsey). We don’t know Ellie’s fate, and we might have to wait a little bit to find out what happens in season 3.

On May 23, 2025, The Last of Us creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann spoke about the season 2 finale in a press conference. They said they didn’t know exactly how many of certain characters would be around in season 3, alluding to the fact that they were still in the middle of writing season 3 at that point. That means there’s still a bit of a way to go before production on season 3 even begins.

One thing we do know, though, is that the TV show is following the structure of the games, where the point of view switches from Ellie to Abby part of the way through. At the end of season 2, just as Abby is about to shoot at Ellie, it cuts to black. Then, we see a bit of Abby’s life in Seattle, hinting at the new focus of season 3. Here’s everything else we know about season 3 of The Last of Us.

The Last Of Us Season 3

The Last Of Us Season 3 Plot

Image Credit: HBO

The Last of Us season 3 followed Ellie’s side of the story from the second game, so we’ll most likely see Abby’s story from the second game in season 3. Creator Craig Mazin also said that a lot of questions about the origins of the WLF and the Seraphites will be answered in season 3.

“Those questions are correct and will be answered,” he said. “How did that war start? Why? How did the Seraphites start? Who is [their] prophet? What happened to her? What does Isaac want? What’s happening at the end of Episode 7? What is this explosion? All of it will become clear.”

The Last Of Us Season 3 Cast

Image Credit: HBO

Already in season 2 of The Last of Us, the creators have proven that even if a character dies, we still might get to see more of them through flashbacks. “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 [who plays Dina], and we haven’t seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.”

The Last of Us season 2 cast included Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Rutina Wesley, Kaitlyn Dever, Young Mazino, Isabela Merced, Danny Ramirez, Ariela Barer, Tati Gabrielle, Catherine O’Hara, Jeffrey Wright, Joe Pantoliano, Alanna Ubach, Hettienne Park, and Robert John Burke.

The Last Of Us Season 3 Release Date

Image Credit: HBO

There’s no release date yet for The Last of Us season 3, but based on the current production schedule, we probably won’t see it until 2026 or 2027.