The Last Of Us season 2 could avoid the time jump, says showrunner

We’re several weeks on from the season finale of HBO’s The Last of Us and I think it’s fair to say that the vast majority of us fans cannot stop thinking ahead to season two. Which aspects of the story will be expanded? Will we learn more about the Scars or WLF? Will the Rat King be included? Will we get to see Tommy’s point of view in Seattle? I’d like to think that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are holed up somewhere right now, working this all out.

One thing we do know is that season two will adapt Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part II across several seasons. Note the word ‘several’. Mazin and Druckmann haven’t yet pinned down a number so it could be more than two. If you’re a fan of that ‘Take on Me’ Ellie and Dina scene, Bella Ramsey has already showcased their impeccable singing and guitar skills. Fans are desperate to know who will play Abby. Today though, I bring you a new tidbit of information. Season two may not have a time jump according to Mazin.

The Last of Us Part I releases on PC today! Take a look at the game in action below.

As reported by Collider (via TheGamer), season two of HBO’s The Last of Us may skip Part II’s five year time jump. Mazin said, “I don’t want to pin anything down. Obviously, the time jump is important, to some extent. It reflects the changing nature of Ellie’s relationship with Joel, as she gets older. In the game, as you point out, she goes from 14 to 19, I believe. But no, we are not doing House of the Dragon leaps. Those were very significant leaps in age, and we don’t have that. So, no recasting will occur. Not on my watch.”

He continued, “Of course, in the second game, there’s a primary shift in time, but there are also moments that you see, that are in between the events of the main storyline of The Last of Us Part II and the storyline of The Last of Us Part I.” It sounds as if the plan may be to lessen that time jump to a much shorter period, or perhaps even to explore those, what we know as, flashbacks sequentially as they happen rather than as flashbacks. Either way, I’m excited to see what the writers have in store.

When pressed about Abby, Mazin simply said, “Anytime you talk about Abby, you start to excite certain corners of the internet. All I can say is that Neil and I will be adapting the story to television, as best we see fit. It seems likely that main characters that are crucial to the storyline would be portrayed, but no, right now, it’s too early for me to commit to anything in print, let’s put it that way.” Oh lawd, she’s coming.