Reveals from SXSW just keep coming, with HBO unveiling a brand new trailer for the upcoming season of The Last of Us over the weekend. With only a month until the first episode launches, it’s a big moment for fans who have been eagerly awaiting any snippet of content or insight for the highly anticipated show.
Presented during a panel featuring the wider cast (Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, plus new leads Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Young Mazino and Gabriel Luna) as well as showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the trailer showed hints of the fallout following Joel’s huge finale decision.
Set five years after the events of Season 1, tensions are clearly growing between Joel and Ellie, and while the trailer was largely free of spoilers (especially for one significant reveal that fans of the games will be waiting for with bated breath), it did show off the budding romance between Ellie and Dina, with the iconic barn scene making a brief appearance.
One thing that still remains to be seen is how the new season will handle the pacing of the story. The Last of Us: Season 1, while widely celebrated, did face some criticisms for the rapid way it ran through the events of the first game. While we now know that the second game will be split between multiple seasons of the show, we will have to wait until launch to see how that plays out in practice.
Spreading the show out like this also means we’ll likely have more time to explore characters like Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby, who we got more of a glimpse of in the trailer. Known for being one of the most divisive video game characters in recent memory, Abby’s actions and story will likely cause quite the stir – and it will be interesting to see whether increased screen-time from her perspective will lessen the vitriol against the character.
Read: The Last of Us: Season 2 will air in mid-April 2025
The new season of The Last of Us will premiere on April 14, 2025 in Australia, exclusively on HBO Max. Local fans will need to ensure they are signed up for the platform when it launches here at the end of the month, as the show will no longer be airing on rival streamer Binge. While we don’t have long to wait now, if you’re eager for more information, check out the trailer below.
