The Last of Us Season 2 was notably polarizing. The HBO favorite took audiences on a tumultuous journey, eliminating beloved characters in brutally unforgettable ways while spiraling into deeper despair. Joel (Pedro Pascal) was essentially beaten to death with a golf club, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) witnessed it all. In response, Ellie set out on her own quest for retribution, taking many lives — even that of a pregnant woman! — in the process. Additionally, The Last of Us disclosed that Seattle is embroiled in an intense civil conflict between the revolutionary Wolves and the cult-like Seraphites.

Basically, The Last of Us Season 2 did all it could to bum us out. Did TLOU go too far? Was The Last of Us cancelled?!?

There was no new episode of The Last of Us on HBO or MAX last week, leaving viewers hanging on an intense cliffhanger. The seventh episode of The Last of Us Season 2 concluded with Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) tracking Ellie to the theater serving as a provisional base for her and her friends. Abby ends up killing Jesse (Young Mazino) and threatens Tommy (Gabriel Luna). The gripping standoff ends with Abby firing a shot in Ellie’s direction, followed by a flashback to Abby’s activities three days prior, coinciding with Ellie and Dina’s (Isabela Merced) arrival in Seattle.

So what comes next? Will The Last of Us come back? Here’s everything we know about the future of The Last of Us…

Is The Last of Us On Tonight (6/8/25)?

Nope! There is no new episode of The Last of Us on HBO or MAX tonight.

How Many Episodes are in The Last of Us Season 2?

With seven episodes in total, The Last of Us Season 2 concluded with Episode 7, titled “Convergence,” serving as the season finale.

Was The Last of Us Cancelled?

Nope! In fact, HBO renewed The Last of Us for a third season all the way back on April 9, 2025. We are definitely getting Abby’s side of the story…eventually.

Will There Be a The Last of Us Season 3 on HBO?

Yes, HBO is making The Last of Us Season 3. While The Last of Us‘s co-creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have tried to play coy about what comes next, they did confirm some fan theories during a recent virtual press conference DECIDER attended.

As fans of the video games might expect, The Last of Us Season 3 will adapt the rest of The Last of Us II. Meaning Season 3 will tackle what Abby was up to during those three tumultuous days in Seattle.

“There is another side to this story that we have yet to really delve into,” The Last of Us co-creator and co-showrunner Craig Mazin said. “There’s no question that Abby is the hero of her story. Kaitlyn Dever is the hero of a story always, you know? I mean, if you have Kaitlyn Dever, you use a Kaitlyn Dever.”

Mazin also teased that the third season will answer many questions sparked in Season 2.

“What is going on? How did that war start? How did the Seraphites start? Who is the prophet? What happened to her? What does Isaac want? What’s happening at the end of Episode 7? What is this explosion? What is all of it?” Mazin said. “And all of that will become clear.“

When Does The Last of Us Return With New Episodes On HBO? TLOU Season 3 Premiere Date:

We might already know that there will be a third season of The Last of Us, but we don’t yet know exactly when it will be back. However, we have some theories.

The first two seasons of the show both took approximately two years to go from scripts to the screen. Logic would state that The Last of Us Season 3 will come out in 2027.

That said, production on the first two seasons of The Last of Us was delayed due to COVID-19 and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, respectively. That means there’s a chance there could be a tighter turnaround for the third season. We think the earliest TLOU Season 3 could come out would be late 2026, but 2027 is our safe bet.

Worried that The Last of Us Season 2 ends with Ellie’s death? Still trying to convince yourself that Jesse is okay? Wondering why Mel’s (Ariela Barer) death was actually so much worse in the show than it was in the game? Check out DECIDER’s breakdown of The Last of Us Season 2 finale to learn more!

How To Watch The Last of Us:

Want to rewatch The Last of Us Season 2? Ready to finally start your long-awaited binge? You’re going to need a MAX subscription to watch The Last of Us.

If you’re new to Max, you can sign up for as low as $9.99/month with ads, but an ad-free subscription will cost $16.99/month.

If you want to stream even more and save a few bucks a month while you’re at it, we recommend subscribing to one of the discounted Disney+ Bundles with Hulu and Max. With ads, the bundle costs $16.99/month and without ads, $29.99/month.