Showrunner Craig Mazin Says Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us” Will Be “Different Radically” but Bella Ramsey Won’t Be Let Go

The popular HBO series adaptation of the hit video game “The Last of Us” has just finished airing its first season, and fans are already looking forward to the second season. Showrunner Craig Mazin has promised that the second season will be different from the game and even more so from the first season.

While some viewers saw the first season as a faithful adaptation of the game, albeit with some flaws, others criticized the series for taking too many radical liberties. However, according to Mazin and the creator of the game, Neil Druckmann, the upcoming season will have even more changes and departures from the game. Mazin recently stated at a press conference covered by IGN, “Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it [won’t] be fairly different at all, but it’s going to be different.”

With these promises, fans are worried that Bella Ramsey, who plays the character Ellie, may be recast due to the five-year time-jump between The Last of Us Part 1 and 2. However, Mazin assured fans that Ramsey will not be let go. He said, “It will be its own thing. It won’t be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make, but we are making it with Bella.”

While the time-jump would have justified someone new portraying Ellie if Season 2 sticks with the game’s premise or timeline, Mazin and Druckmann seem to have figured out a way around it. They are determined to continue working with Ramsey and have no plans to let her go. Druckmann said, “The only way we would ever, ever consider recasting Bella is if she said, ‘I don’t want to work with you guys anymore.’ Even then, I’m not sure we would grant her that. We might still force her to come back to Season 2.”

Mazin also highlighted that Ramsey’s age is no longer a problem as she has already turned 19, which matches Ellie’s age in The Last of Us Part 2. With the second season possibly premiering in 2024 or 2025, Ramsey will likely look mature enough to continue playing the co-lead role alongside Pedro Pascal.

Fans of “The Last of Us” will undoubtedly be thrilled to hear that Ramsey will be returning for the next season, and are eagerly anticipating what new changes and surprises the show has in store.