The Last Of Us Season 2 Trailer Warns Of A 'Price' To Be Paid, Hints At Joel/Ellie Betrayal: 'You Swore!'
It's going to be a hell of a spring for Joel and Ellie, when The Last of Us returns for its second season on April 13 at 9/8c.
A new Season 2 trailer (above), which debuted Saturday during a SXSW panel featuring cast members Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Kaitlyn Dever, Isabela Merced, Gabriel Luna, Young Mazino, Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, offers glimpses of both love and war. There's Ellie (Ramsey) and Dina (100 Things to Do Before High School's Isabella Merced) sharing a slow dance, but there's also stone-cold Abby (Season 2 addition Dever) marching through the snow, clearly on a mission. The trailer closes with the suggestion of a betrayal by Joel (Pascal), as Ellie hisses at him, "You swore."
Per the official synopsis, Season 2 will begin with a time jump: "Five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind."
A previous Season 2 teaser was released back on Sept. 26, which is both the birthday of Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and the day that the Cordyceps infection really started messing with/nearly wiping out humanity.
HBO also recently released three images created by artist Greg Ruth in celebration of the show's seminal date. You can see them below.
In August, HBO released the first footage from the show's sophomore run via a Max promo. In it, Joel made an expected confession — to an unexpected character: Season 2 newbie Catherine O'Hara (Schitt's Creek). She presumably wondered about Ellie, asking Joel, "Did you hurt her?" His response: "I saved her." Fans of the franchise will recognize this as a deviation from the original story. In the video game, Joel delivers his confession to his brother Tommy (and only Tommy).
The previous teaser (seen below) seemed to indicate more changes from the Naughty Dog video game's storyline. We were also intrigued by what's going on around the :45 mark; those who know The Last of Us Part II inside and out will recognize this scene as something that is shown at the very end of that game. Given that series creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have indicated that the show will likely go at least three seasons, it's interesting that the moment is included in Season 2.
Also of note: Isaac (Westworld's Jeffrey Wright) and a captured Seraphite, some longing looks between Ellie and Dina, and the music at the start of the clip, which is from a series of poignant moments in Part II.
Season 1 came to an end after Joel murdered a hospital full of Firefly resistance fighters who intended to kill Ellie in order to figure out a cure for Cordyceps infection. When Ellie — who'd been anesthetized and therefore unaware of both Joel's actions and the danger to her — came to, Joel lied and said the experiment hadn't worked. Later, when she made him swear that he was telling the truth, he did so readily... even though he was doubling down on the lie. (Read a recap.)
In addition to Dever, Wright, Merced and O'Hara, Season 2 cast newbies include: Young Mazino (BEEF), Danny Ramirez (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier), Ariela Barer (Runaways), Tati Gabrielle (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina) and Spencer Lord (Heartland).
Hit PLAY on the video above, then hit the comments with your The Last of Us Season 2 hopes!