The Last of Us season 2 first look reunites Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey
Published on April 20, 2026 EDT In no surprise to gamers, Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley are also confirmed to return as Tommy and Maria.

Ready for the next phase of HBO's post-apocalyptic odyssey? It's a doozy.

Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey are back as Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us season 2 first-look photos, which were unveiled on Wednesday out of the Warner Bros. Discovery Upfront presentation. We still have a while before we see what happens next after that emotionally wrecking season 1 finale; the cast are still filming in the Vancouver area ahead of a planned 2025 premiere on HBO and Max. But for now, this is but a glimpse.

In other news that won't be surprising for anyone who has played 2020's The Last of Us Part II, Gabriel Luna and Rutina Wesley are officially confirmed to reprise their roles of Joel's brother Tommy and sister-in-law Maria.

HBO

The only others confirmed for the cast are Kaitlyn Dever as the pivotal character of Abby, Isabela Merced as Ellie's love interest Dina, Young Mazino as Ellie's friend Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, and Catherine O’Hara in an undisclosed guest-starring role.

Season 1 was set 20 years after modern civilization collapsed in the wake of a global fungal pandemic that transformed those infected into monstrous zombie-like creatures. Joel, a survivor living in a Boston quarantine zone, was tasked with smuggling out the young Ellie, the only known person immune to the virus. Fate set the pair on a dangerous cross-country odyssey to find a rebel group known as the Fireflies in the hopes Ellie's immunity could lead to a cure. However — SPOILER ALERT — when Joel realized finding a cure meant Ellie's death, he killed the rebels to save the teen he now sees as his own daughter.

HBO

After 24 Emmy nominations and eight Emmy wins, season 2 will begin to adapt the events of the next video game in the saga. Though details on how showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann (the games' creator) are adapting The Last of Us Part II, the game picked up five years after Joel and Ellie's journey with the two settled down in Tommy and Maria's Jackson, Wyo. community. They are enjoying a life of peace and stability when an unthinkable, violent event occurs that sets Ellie out on a relentless mission to bring those responsible to justice.

"Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it will be [barely] different at all. But it's going to be different and it will be its own thing," Mazin previously told Entertainment Weekly of season 2. "It won't be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I want to make."

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