Streaming has been killing it in recent years, with the heaviest of the hitters being HBO’s “The Last of Us” and Netflix’s “Squid Game.” These shows were loved globally, and people have been clamouring for more. Well, guess what? Your wait has finally paid off, as the second seasons of both series are fast approaching.
From direct confirmation to leaks, from cast lineup to story lines – here’s the scoop we’ve managed to dig up and what you can expect from these small screen powerhouses.
The Last Of Us
Easily one of the biggest shows of 2023, to say HBO’s “The Last of Us” did exceptionally well would be a huge understatement. The intense story gripped viewers from start to finish, and was so popular that its season finale was able to steal and hold on to 8.2 million viewers despite airing on the same night as the Oscars.
The show has since gone on to earn several Golden Globe nominations, including Best Television Series, Drama. It has been a year since the show’s premiere, and we now have confirmation that season 2 is in the works, if not already on the streaming horizon.
Season 1 Finale
Spoiler warning for those who have not caught up with the series (but if you’ve played the game, you already know what’s going to happen). Season 1 ended with Joel and Ellie finally reaching the Fireflies, but things took a turn for the worse. In order for a cure to be made, Ellie needed to die, something Joel refused to let happen. He then went on a rampage, massacring everyone in sight in order to save Ellie and even killing Marlene to protect her. However, when Ellie confronted Joel and asked for the truth, he lied, protecting her from the horrors of what he had done.
This neatly sets the stage for season 2, and if it’s anything like the game, the plot will take a much darker turn.
What To Expect
“The Last of Us” season 2 is confirmed to stream sometime in 2025. Along with this, Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey will naturally reprise their roles, along with Gabriel Luna (Tommy) and Rutina Wesley (Maria). Besides these four familiar faces, HBO announced a few more cast members who will be playing pivotal roles in season 2.
We know that the series and the games have some differences, such as the transmission of the infection and other key details, but season 1 largely stuck to the major story beats found in the original game. Because of this, if they are to adapt the second game, “The Last of Us Part II,” we can be confident that the showrunners will be sticking to the main storyline as well.
Pedro Pascal even went on record and essentially confirmed this in an interview with Esquire, by saying, “It wouldn’t make sense to follow the first game so faithfully, only to stray severely from the path… So, yeah, that’s my honest answer.” But we can also expect some changes, as series co-creator Craig Mazin confirmed that there will be changes from the game to the screen, and that the show will not be a carbon copy of the game.
Cast & Characters
With that in mind, we need to discuss who will be playing Abby, easily one of the most controversial characters in the entire series. Believe it or not, the ending of season 1 actually sets up Abby’s introduction. When Joel was killing everyone in the hospital to save Ellie, he killed a doctor who was about to perform surgery on Ellie. In “The Last of Us Part II,” that doctor was Jerry Anderson, Abby’s father. Abby has sworn vengeance over her father’s death, and what she decides to do will easily land her a spot as TV’s most controversial character.
HBO has confirmed Kaitlyn Dever will play Abby in the upcoming season. Leading up to this confirmation, fans were convinced that Shannon Berry, who’s famous for her role in “The Wilds,” shares a striking resemblance with the controversial character.
Additionally, Isabel Merced, known for her role as Dora in “Dora and the Lost City of Gold,” will be playing Dina, Ellie’s closest friend. She will be accompanied by Young Mazino, who will play Jesse, a wholesome character who is described as “putting everyone else’s needs before his own, sometimes at terrible cost.”
Along with this new cast, questions of Ellie being recast have floated around. For those unaware, “The Last of Us Part II” takes place five years after the first game, which features a far more mature and darker interpretation of the beloved character. But Craig stated that Bella is 19 years old, the same age as Ellie was in the events of Part II, and went on record as saying, “We are making it with Bella,” in a virtual press conference.
What Will Happen In Season 2?
The official synopsis from PlayStation for “The Last of Us Part II” reads, “Five years after their dangerous journey across the post-pandemic United States, Ellie and Joel have settled down in Jackson, Wyoming. Living amongst a thriving community of survivors has allowed them peace and stability, despite the constant threat of the infected and other, more desperate survivors. When a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie embarks on a relentless journey to carry out justice and find closure. As she hunts those responsible one by one, she is confronted with the devastating physical and emotional repercussions of her actions.”
If that hasn’t cued you off already, Ellie will be taking centre stage and will be the main character we follow for the better part of season 2. If you have played the game or looked up spoilers, you would know that something significant happens to Joel in Part II. Despite this, Craig remains cryptic with regards to the character. “This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don’t fear killing characters,” he told Esquire. “But the important thing to note is that neither Neil [Druckmann] nor I feel constrained by the source material.” Does that mean we will see more of Joel or not? It’s all up in the air until it’s been put to paper and we get to watch it ourselves.
On the flip side, Bella revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast that she’s “really excited” to watch the Ellie and Dina story unfold. “I’ve watched a cut together, someone’s made a phenomenal – I don’t know how they do it – like an amazing edit of just like the gameplay, like Ellie and Dina’s love story. So I’m excited to play that out,” she said. Ellie in season 2 will demand more physical strength because of all the stunts, but that is something the young actress is looking forward to during production.
Squid Game
While waiting for “The Last of Us” season 2 to drop, why not end the year with a heart-stopping adventure to the east, as we return to the world of “Squid Game”? That’s right, the high-stakes Korean drama will return in December, according to Lee Jung-Jaem, the actor who played Seong Gi-hun.
He confirmed this news while promoting his upcoming Star Wars series, “The Acolyte,” on the Disney Upfronts red carpet last Tuesday. Despite the news spreading like wildfire, Netflix representatives did not release any comments on this seemingly leaked news.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Netflix has not yet officially released a premiere date for season two, though co-CEO Ted Sarandos said during a Netflix earnings call in April that it would be released in the back half of 2024.
You may recall that the series was a huge success for Netflix, and according to its own data, it’s the platform’s most-watched show to date in terms of hours. The show also received a lot of critical acclaim: it was nominated for 14 Emmys in 2022 and won six of them, including an Outstanding Directing award for Hwang. Netflix has renewed the show for a second season, with Lee returning in June 2022, and has also launched a reality competition spinoff series.
Season 1 Finale
The upcoming instalment will continue the premise of “Squid Game” season 1, with a group of contestants desperate enough to risk their lives by playing deadly games for the chance at a ₩45.6 billion cash prize. But, as seen in a “Squid Game” season 2 preview, Gi-hun has completely abandoned his plans to travel to the United States to reunite with his daughter. Instead, he wants revenge against the mysterious group behind the games.
What To Expect
Season 2 will feature some familiar faces, such as Lee Byung-hun (Hwang In-ho, the Front Man), Gong Yoo (Salesman), and Wi Ha-joon (police officer Hwang Jun-ho). The cast will include several newcomers, including Yim Si-wan, Kang Ha-neul, Park Gyu-young, Park Sung-hoon, and Yang Dong-geun. They are likely to be among the new players hoping to win the deadly games, though character details remain unknown. Despite this, some publicity material has been sourced that features the four new actors, hinting that they might have a massive role in the upcoming season.
Unfortunately, since news of season 2 has, in essence, been “leaked”, Netflix has been in a sort of damage-control mode, releasing as little information as possible. The streaming service has been dead silent on anything related to the popular drama and has only been promoting its other series in the meantime. Which is to say, there’s not much information in regards to the upcoming season, and it will likely stay that way until we are drawing closer to the official release date. Lee Jung-jae did previously tease that creator Hwang Dong-hyuk would prepare a “great story.”
“I’m in constant and continuous talks with the production company about season 2, but I try not to talk to the director too much,” Lee told The Hollywood Reporter. “Because, like you said, the creative process is really intense for him, and now with the added pressure of the show’s global success, I know he must be going through such a hard time. So I don’t want to be another factor adding to the pain of the creative process, which I know so well from my own writing experience. But I have total faith that he will write a great story for season 2, and I wait in anticipation with everyone else.”
We can also speculate that the “pressure” that show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk is feeling is another reason why so little information is being revealed to us right now.
