‘The Last Of Us’ boss teases Pedro Pascal’s return in season three

The creators of The Last Of Us have shared a teaser about what’s to come in season three, including a hint about Pedro Pascal’s return to the show.

Speaking at a press conference about the season two finale, co-creators Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin dropped some hints about what fans can expect from the next season of HBO’s acclaimed post-apocalyptic drama.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Druckmann said: “We’re telling you that next season, one, there’s an epic nature to everything that’s about to happen.

“But this other story is going to be really important coming back to Joel and Ellie and everything we’ve seen so far.”

Kaitlyn Dever as Abby in ‘The Last Of Us’ season two CREDIT: HBO

Earlier in the season, Pascal’s Joel was violently murdered by Abby, as revenge for killing her father when saving Bella Ramsey’s Ellie from the Firefly hospital in season one.

Regarding returning characters, Mazin teased Pascal’s potential return. He said: “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 even seen the last of a lot of people who are currently dead in the story.”

The season two finale ended with Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby waking and a “Seattle Day One” title card, which indicates that season three could shift to focus on Abby’s perspective.

Speaking about that potential shift, and the season’s cliffhanger ending, Mazin said: “We considered everything. Maybe we should just interlace the stories [of Ellie and Abby]? I just remember saying, ‘Isn’t [switching perspectives] part of the genetics of how this story functions?’ It’s just part of the genetics.”

Bella Ramsey (Ellie) and Pedro Pascal (Joel) in ‘The Last Of Us’ season two. CREDIT: HBO

He continued: “Now what it means is we have to take risks as a television show, and HBO is backing us taking risks. But then again, we just did kill Pedro Pascal. Like [HBO] understands that this show is going to be a different show every season, which is a tricky thing to do when you’re a hit show. You keep asking people like, ‘I know you love this, we’re taking it away and giving you this now.’”

It’s been an eventful season overall of the video game adaptation, with Joel’s death in episode two leaving many fans shocked – though Ramsey said that an emotional scene in episode three was actually the most challenging to shoot.

Episode five, ‘Feel Her Love’, was another highlight, with fans hailing the “masterclass “ level of acting from the cast in that particular instalment.

There has also been some controversy around the show during the second season, with some fans having to avoid spoilers of the finale after it leaked online. When the season two finale did air on Sunday (May 25), it saw a 55 per cent drop in viewership compared to season one.

Isabela Merced as Dina in HBO’s ‘The Last Of Us’. CREDIT: HBO

Many lovers of the original game were unhappy when the show’s creators confirmed it would need a fourth season to complete the story, saying: “They’re just dragging it out now”.

Druckmann also reignited a debate amongst the game’s fans last week when he hinted that the Fireflies could have made a cure to the Cordyceps brain infection that has ravaged humanity in the show.

Season two received a four-star review from NME, with Nick Levine writing: “A few fiddly episodes don’t spoil an entire season – especially one driven brilliantly by the fierce heat of vengeance.

“At its best, The Last Of Us is unsettling enough to make you question your own hypothetical moral code. When every day is about survival and making sense of post-apocalyptic chaos, does taking a life become easier, or somehow even harder? This show doesn’t just go deep narratively – it also cuts deep emotionally.”

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