The Last of Us Season 3 will be longer than Season 2 when it eventually premieres on HBO, according to showrunner and series co-creator Craig Mazin.
The TV veteran spoke about the direction the adaptation will take for its next season during an interview with THR. He stops short of promising a count for the next batch of episodes but does outright promise that Season 3 “will be longer” than the season that wrapped up earlier this year.
“We’re kind of fiddling around with that — it’s a little bit of a trade secret at the moment,” Mazin said when asked about pacing and episode count for The Last of Us Season 3. “But I will say that season three will be longer than season two. Season three will be more on par with season one. More bang for the buck.”
Season 2 kicked off the HBO team’s adaptation of the events of Naughty Dog’s divisive video game sequel, The Last of Us Part 2, when it premiered in April. It focused on the first half of its multi-season adaptation, giving viewers the next chapter of Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) story throughout the course of just seven episodes. For comparison, The Last of Us Season 1 adapted the events of the original game in nine episodes.
The Season 2 finale episode that followed in May teased that, like the game, Season 3 will shift its focus to Abby (Kaitlyn Dever). It’s unclear exactly how Mazin plans to retell the Seattle section of The Last of Us Part 2 through Abby’s perspective, but he has teased that The Last of Us show will may need at least one additional season to finish its story.
The Last of Us Season 3 is shaking up HBO’s process in more ways than one. In July, series co-creator and original The Last of Us video game director Neil Druckmann announced he would be stepping away from the show to focus on future projects at Naughty Dog. Co-writer Halley Gross announced her departure from the series that same day.
Although an episode count for The Last of Us Season 3 is still being finalized in the wake of these shakeups, Mazin doesn’t believe the writing process has changed.
“I don’t think it is, in the sense that I was pretty much a monk just writing in a room by myself for most of the time regardless,” Mazin explained to THR. “And I’ve gotten so much out of talking with them over the course of seasons one and two. When we made season two, we really were thinking about what comes after because you can’t really tell half of that story without thinking about what the whole story should be. So we really did get that work in. Neil’s always had a full-time job running Naughty Dog, so it’s always been me up in Canada [where the production is], and, ultimately, things are pretty much going to proceed as usual.”
The Last of Us Season 3 is expected to premiere in 2027. Although Mazin has teased the show could require additional seasons to finish its narrative, HBO boss Casey Bloys said last month that Season 3 could potentially be its last. For more, you can read our 7/10 review for The Last of Us Season 2.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
