The Last of Us Season 2 will start production early next year. And fans could not be any happier. After all, the kind of effect that the first season had was something else. Showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann are returning, and they have a number of new ideas in their heads. This time around, they are heading to the even darker side of this world, and fans cannot wait to see how it goes.

While the first season of The Last of Us series was mostly faithful to its source material, the creators made a bunch of changes too. They introduced new scenarios, such as the introduction of the infection, and they introduced new characters too. So it’s safe to assume there will be similar changes in season 2 as well. But to what extent? Could the show hint at a future TLOU game?

Fans can expect to see a bunch of new stuff in The Last of Us Season 2

The Last of Us video game franchise is story driven. It does not give its players any choice in what they can do. They have to just follow the linear playfield and see events unfold. And when the show was announced, it was known that the show would be based on the game. Hence, when the series was announced, most fans already knew what to expect. However, thanks to the creative genius of Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, even some seasoned fans got a bunch of surprises.

For instance, Ashley Johnson, who played Ellie in the games, made a brief appearance as Ellie’s mother in the season 1 finale. The show also gave the origin of the virus, giving fans a better look at that universe. Then there were more changes with the infected. The show had tendrils, while the game had spores as a means of transmitting the virus.

And that’s why the expectations for the second season are sky high. For one, Neil Druckmann is not the only person at the helm, so new ideas can be brought to the table, while keeping the main story intact. On the other hand, this new season might just expand the universe even further. With the introduction of new characters and new scenarios, who knows, they might even take it a step further by hinting at a sequel to the game. Maybe through some Easter eggs or even by changing the ending or the fate of characters.

It’s not as if they did not try that in the first season. The showrunners and the last episode’s director, Ali Abbasi, considered giving the first season an alternate ending. One is where Ellie does not react favorably to Joel’s reply about the doctor’s not being able to find a cure through her. As Mazin said, “Ellie says, ‘okay’, and then she turns and walks away. Joel looks after her. We see the two of them walking, not really together but apart, down towards Jackson.”

With shooting yet to start, there’s obviously room for more creative changes. And there will be more connections between the game and the show than previously known. However, the way it’s implemented on the show remains to be seen.

TLOU creator Neil Druckmann also told EW that, like the cut levels that will be part of the TLOU2 PS5 remaster, one will also be in the show. He said, “As a tease, I will say there is at least one element from a cut level that is planned [for] the show.” He further stated, “I say that with the caveat that we haven’t started filming the show yet and all things are subject to change based on what we ultimately feel will be best for the show.”

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Whatever they do, it’s pretty evident that they are very comfortable with this subject material. As confirmed before, it will take more than one season of season 2. And due to the delay because of the recent SAG AFTRA strikes, shooting is yet to start. But this surely also gave the writers and creators time to work on the script. While shows and movies based on an existing source like The Walking Dead, Game of Thrones etc take the liberty of making changes to the story, characters and more, this time, for all you know, we could see hints of a future game in the show. Will that be the case? All we can do is wait for answers.

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