The journey isn’t over for Joel and Ellie. During the season two finale of House of the Dragon,  a sizzle real for HBO’s 2024-2025 season included a first look at season two of The Last of Us, HBO’s Emmy-winning dystopian drama series based on the video game of the same name starring SAG-award winner Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as the unlikely world-saving duo.

According to Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann, season two of hews closely to the video game, The Last of Us Part II, which was released on PlayStation 4 in the early days of COVID—ironic, considering the fact that The Last of Us chronicles the fallout from a 20-year global Cordyceps pandemic. At the end of season one, Joel and Ellie have reached the Fireflys—a rebel group that opposes the oppressing United States Armed Forces—and their Salt Lake City outpost. The father and surrogate daughter duo are planning to reunite with Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Maria (Rutina Wesley) and other community members when their plan goes awry, forcing Joel to kill Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the leader of the Fireflies, to protect Ellie.

In the clip that aired on HBO, Pascal’s Joel is being interrogated by Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara, who joins the Last of Us cast as a character whose identity is still under wraps. “Did you hurt her?” O’Hara asks Joel. A weathered Joel denies the allegation before the O’Hara’s mystery woman presses further. “Then what? What did you do?”

The sizzle real then cuts to Ellie, screaming in what appears to be a hospital bed. Snowy mountain vistas, assault rifles, and a terrifying alien-esque creature all appear in the trailer, which teases that The Last of Us will return sometime in 2025. Along with O’Hara, Pascal, and Ramsey, we also get a first look at Oscar nominee Jeffery Wright, who joins season two as Isaac, and newcomer Isabela Merced who plays Dina, a potential love interest for Ramsey’s Ellie.

But in the clip, it’s all about Pascal’s world-weary Joel. A stone cold Pascal responds to O’Hara’s questions with a definitive answer. “I saved her,” he says, as a tear rolls down his cheek.

What else can we expect from season two—and just as importantly, when can we expect it? Here’s what we know so far. Be warned: major spoilers for the video game lie ahead.

When will season two arrive?

Sometime in 2025, according to HBO’s new sizzle reel. The season’s production was delayed to 2024, HBO head Casey Bloys announced at a press conference in the fall of 2023, due to the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes. Creator Neil Druckmann revealed at a panel in early December of that year that production would officially commence on February 12. Season two will likely hit HBO months into 2025, more than two years after the show’s first season premiere.

Who will star in season two?

Both Pascal and Ramsey will return to their roles as Joel and Ellie, respectively, alongside a sure-to-be stacked lineup of guest stars following Nick Offerman and Storm Reid’s recent Emmy wins for their guest-starring performances.

Emmy winner Catherine O’Hara is joining season two in an undisclosed role, HBO confirmed on February 2 of 2023. She was asked about boarding the project on an episode of Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen the night before the official announcement. “How do you know these things?” the actor replied, before confirming that she is considering the project. “My son’s a set dresser on the show,” O’Hara added.

Joining them for the third season is Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick, Booksmart) who reportedly once auditioned for the role of Ellie, as Abby, described by HBO as “a skilled soldier whose black-and-white view of the world is challenged as she seeks vengeance for those she loved.”

And hot off his Emmy-nominated performance in Netflix’s Beef, Young Mazino has been cast as one of Ellie’s friends, Jesse. “Young is one of those rare actors who is immediately undeniable the moment you see him,” Druckmann and fellow executive producer/co-creator/director Craig Mazin said in a statement. “We’re so lucky to have him, and we can’t wait for the audience to see Young shine in our show.”

Isabela Merced, best known for starring in Dora and the Lost City of Gold and 2021’s Father of the Bride remake, has been cast as Dina, the ex-girlfriend of Jesse and love interest of Ellie. “Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous, and instantly lovable. You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away,” the showrunners said in a statement about her casting. “We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”

What can we expect from season two?

You know how season one ended with a shockingly violent moral conflict? Expect that tone to continue into season two, and then some.

The first Last of Us video game arrived in 2013. Seven years later, The Last of Us Part II hit PlayStation 4 in the early days of COVID. The conditions of our world and the conditions of The Last of Us sequel were in perfectly bleak harmony, presenting players with a grim storyline that makes Joel’s deadliest decision from Part I look tame.

Just how bleak is this story going to get? Let’s put it this way: The Last of Us Part II was so devastating that it inspired certain toxic fans to send death threats to the developers at Naughty Dog. Druckmann not only stands by the events of Part II, but has also indicated that the game will serve as the spine for season two; what’s more, the show has no plans to tell stories other than what’s in the games. So unless Naughty Dog has a Part III up its sleeve, the next season could be the last of The Last of Us.

What happens in The Last of Us Part II, with minimal spoilers?

In short, a lot. The Last of Us Part II is a vast game, about 10 hours longer than its predecessor. Given the story’s size, there’s a world in which HBO divides the game into two seasons; right now, short of a third video game, this is our best hope for a TV series that’s not two-and-done.

In more specific detail, let’s say this: The Last of Us season one already teased some of what’s ahead for season two. In the final moments of season one, Joel and Ellie stand on the outskirts of Jackson, ready to reunite with Tommy, Maria, and the other community members. The Last of Us Part II sees our protagonists fully settled, taking place some years later.

Episode six, “Kin,” gives an even clearer sense of the future, as Ellie encounters two characters from the sequel video game. First, there’s Shimmer, Ellie’s eventual animal companion. Second, there’s Dina, a key cast member in Part II. Fans believe Dina is the same person spying on Joel and Ellie while they eat in the Jackson mess hall. She’s one of the most important figures in the video game, and a sure bet for a second season of the show.

Another sure bet: an increased focus on Ellie. In the first video game, players control Joel. The sequel casts the player as Ellie, a young adult at that point in the story. Folks who have played both games regularly tout Ellie as the true protagonist of the Last of Us franchise, which will bear out if the HBO show sticks to the source material script.

What happens in The Last of Us Part II, with maximum spoilers?

Do you really want to know? There are some massive twists in the second video game that are almost certainly going to be lifted for the show. And even if HBO divides The Last of Us Part II into two seasons, the most polarizing twist from the game is all but guaranteed to factor into the show’s second year. You can research it on your own if you really want, though you’re better served playing the game for yourself or waiting for the show to return.

But if you’re still reading, then you want to hear all about it right now. With that said, once more, with feeling:

Huge spoilers lie ahead. Turn back now or proceed at your own risk.

Still here? All right, then.

It should come as no shock that Joel’s decision to wipe out the Fireflies looms large over the story’s next phase. It will perhaps come as a huge shock that it ultimately results in Joel’s death. The Last of Us Part II tells a tale of two avengers: Abby Anderson, whose father was the doctor Joel killed in Salt Lake City; and Ellie, who watches Abby beat Joel to death. Yes: Pedro Pascal is about to have another shockingly killed HBO hero under his belt. (That must be the reason the man wears a helmet on The Mandalorian.) It’s effectively The Last of Us’s version of Negan killing Glenn on The Walking Dead, and it will be just as painful and divisive to watch.

The game follows not only Ellie’s attempt to avenge Joel but also the circumstances behind Abby’s revenge quest, as players take control over both Ellie and Abby at different points in the story. When players kill what would otherwise be faceless NPCs in another video game, they are instead killing folks who are close to both playable protagonists. The result is a hollow pursuit of vengeance at all costs, making season one’s grim ending look positively joyous by comparison. Given the inevitable bloodshed on the horizon, perhaps waiting until 2025 or later for The Last of Us season two isn’t such a bad idea after all.

This post has been updated.