The Last of Us: all the news about the video game franchise turned TV series – The Verge

The Last of Us Part II’s new mode puts the story in chronological order

2025-07-08T12:32:34-04:00

With season 2 of HBO's The Last of Us in the books, and with no The Last of Us Part III coming in the immediate future, Naughty Dog has come up with an interesting way to funnel all the attention from the show into the game. The studio has released a new, free patch for The Last of Us Part II Remastered that lets you play the game in chronological order. The mode takes Abby and Ellie's stories and interleaves them in chronological order rather than the nonlinear story of the original version of the game, which used timeskips and flashbacks.

In addition to Chronological Mode, the patch also includes new achievements and skins to use in Part …

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The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann is stepping back from the HBO show

2025-07-02T14:11:00-04:00

Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us video game and co-showrunner on the HBO adaptation, will be stepping away from the television series moving forward. In a statement, Druckmann - who is also studio head at The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog - said the decision was made to focus on the studio's upcoming games.

"With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the time to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as studio head and head of cr …

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The soul of The Last of Us is in Gustavo Santaolalla’s music

2025-06-06T12:03:34-04:00

When fans nervously tuned in to watch HBO's adaptation of one of their favorite video games, there was one familiar presence that immediately calmed their nerves: the mournful guitar of Gustavo Santaolalla. As certain story beats changed and beloved polygonal faces were replaced with new actors, the beating heart of The Last of Us - its mesmerizing, tension-ridden score - survived the transition to TV intact.

"[Series creator] Neil Druckmann has said that my music is part of the DNA of The Last of Us," Santaolalla says. "I think the fact that we kept the sonic fabric - that we didn't do an orchestral score for the series - has been instrume …

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The Last of Us opens up a whole new perspective for its next season

2025-05-27T10:05:08-04:00

The Last of Us just wrapped up its second season, and the finale ends in a way that sets up a major change for the show. It's one that reflects a similar shift in perspective that fans of the game it's adapting will remember well: one designed to make viewers see the story in a whole new way.

This story contains spoilers for the first two seasons of The Last of Us, as well as both games.

After the relative peace and respite of season 2's penultimate episode, which tracked Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie's (Bella Ramsey) shifting relationship over the course of several years, the finale gets back to the dark stuff. Namely, Ellie's quest to fi …

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The Last of Us ripped off the Band-aid

2025-04-21T08:31:28-04:00

If you've played both The Last of Us games and are watching along with the show, there's a pretty strong chance you've been waiting to see how the HBO series approaches a very particular moment - and wondering if that moment has been changed at all for TV. Well, it didn't take too long to find out.

The second episode of season 2 just aired, and The Last of Us' creators made sure to rip the bandage right off. And not only did they not tone things down, they somehow made things even more intense, while also using the moment as a chance to further expand this post-apocalyptic world.

Obviously, there will be spoilers to follow for The Last of …

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In The Last of Us season 2, Joel finally goes to therapy

2025-04-11T14:26:32-04:00

Pedro Pascal and Catherine O’Hara in The Last of Us.

Joel is a troubled guy. Throughout the first Last of Us game (and subsequent TV adaptation on HBO, where he's played by Pedro Pascal), he sees and does a lot of things he'd rather forget. He certainly doesn't seem to want to talk about them much. Which is why it's nice to see that, in the show's second season, he's finally seeing a therapist named Gail.

Unlike most of the show's cast, Gail (played by Catherine O'Hara) isn't based on a character from the games but instead is a new creation specifically for the HBO series. And although she makes her debut in season 2, co-creator Craig Mazin says that introducing a therapist was actually somet …

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HBO’s The Last of Us had to speed up Abby’s reveal

2025-04-11T14:27:02-04:00

Kaitlyn Dever as Abby.

In The Last of Us Part II, it takes a long time before players understand just who Abby is. A new character introduced as both an antagonist and protagonist, Abby is locked in a violent game of revenge with Ellie, but her reasoning and history don't become clear until around midway through the game, when players actually take control of her as a character.

When the team behind the HBO adaptation of The Last of Us started thinking about introducing her for the show's second season, they realized they didn't have that same amount of time.

"When we put out The Last of Us Part II, you have the entire story and you decide how you want to pace i …

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Sony is now selling both Last of Us games in one package

2025-04-10T13:32:41-04:00

Just ahead of the second season of The Last of Us on HBO, Sony is making it a little easier for newcomers to get the full game experience. The company just announced The Last of Us Complete for the PS5, which is exactly what it sounds like: a collection feature The Last of Us Part I and Part II, alongside extra features like the roguelike mode and "lost levels" collection.

Of course, you can already buy the PS5 enhanced versions of both games, but the new collection should provide a simple entry point to those just coming to the series after watching the show. That's almost certainly why the complete collection is coming out now; season 2 o …

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The Last of Us renewed for season 3 just ahead of HBO return

2025-04-09T12:24:22-04:00

The Last of Us' second season hasn't even debuted yet, but Warner Bros. Discovery renewed the show for a third season. The company hasn't shared details about when the third season may air or how many episodes it might be.

The second season's first episode debuts on Sunday on HBO and Max. Season 2 is only 7 episodes long, a bit shorter than season 1's 9-episode run, but it won't cover all of The Last of Us Part II, as co-creator Craig Mazin explained in an interview last year.

"We feel like it's almost assuredly going to be the case that - as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television - Season 3 will be significant …

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The Last of Us season 2 is a brutal, bloody expansion of the game

2025-04-07T13:36:17-04:00

The first season of HBO's The Last of Us wasn't just one of the most impressive video game adaptations to date, it was also one of the most faithful. The show did a remarkable job of replicating the characters, locations, and moments of the game, to the point that it felt like it was just skipping straight to the cutscenes at times. Still, season 1 displayed flashes of its own storytelling, with episodes like "Long Long Time," which expanded the post-apocalyptic world's scope beyond the main story of Ellie and Joel. This helped the series feel both authentic to and distinct from its source material. Season 2 takes things a step further - it …

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