The Last of Us season 2 promo poster of Joel

HBO’s The Last of Us might return sooner than audiences expect.

Speaking to Deadline following the Emmy Awards, Chairman and CEO of HBO and Max Content Casey Bloys offered a bit of insight into when the Emmy-winning video game adaptation is expected to drop its next season. Though coy about an exact release date, he claimed it and The White Lotus will premiere around “generally first half of the year [2025], I expect them to be in the Emmy window.” Bloys also offered encouraging words on the show’s quality, stating, “I’ve seen Last of Us. I think everybody is going to love what [co-creator] Craig [Mazin] is doing. White Lotus I haven’t seen anything yet, but I went to visit. Obviously, I’ve seen dailies and read scripts, so high hopes for both of them.”

A sizzle reel of HBO’s upcoming programs gave fans a first look at The Last of Us season 2, based on the Naughty Dog game’s acclaimed, yet polarizing 2020 sequel The Last of Us Part II. The reel teased Joel (Pedro Pascal) conversing with a character played by Catherine O’Hara over his decision to save Ellie (Bella Ramsey), all while teasing familiar game locations and characters like Kathryn Dever’s Abby, Isabela Merced’s Dina, and Jeffrey Wright’s Isaac.

Jeffrey Wright Reprises His Role From the Video Game

Similar to season 1, which saw Merle Dandridge reprise her role from the 2013 game as Marlene, Wright will physically play the ruthless leader of the Washington Liberation Front controlling post-apocalyptic Seattle, with other clips hinting at the game’s overarching WLF/Seraphites conflict. It’s unclear whether other The Last of Us Part II game actors will appear in live-action, though Abby’s actor Laura Bailey cameoed in season 1’s finale as a Firefly nurse.

Despite winning Game of the Year, The Last of Us Part II‘s release was plagued by online controversy surrounding the game’s story choices, with plot details infamously leaking early and Bailey receiving death threats for her performance as Abby Anderson. In a recent interview, Merced disclosed how this backlash affected Dever while filming season 2, noting, “There are people that actually genuinely hate Abby, who is not a real person. Just a reminder, not a real person. And so Kaitlyn had to be extra secured by security when it came to the filming of this.”

Merced recently starred in the new Alien film Alien: Romulus, with director Fede Alvarez admitting a key Last of Us Part II subplot involving Dina influenced the role he wrote for Merced before she joined his movie and The Last of Us series.

Pedro Pascal The Last of Us Season 2 First Look

While Hulu’s Shogun and HBO’s Hacks took home this year’s Emmys for Outstanding Drama and Outstanding Comedy, another video game adaptation — Prime Video’s Fallout — was in consideration for the Drama category. Additionally, Netflix’s League of Legends adaptation Arcane will drop its second season in November.

The Last of Us season 1 is streaming on Max, while season 2 will premiere in 2025.