“Every path has a price” became the definitive tagline for The Last of Us season 2 at SXSW this year, as fans got a sneak peek of it on Saturday.
Some of the cast and creators for the hotly anticipated next chapter in the Emmy-winning saga assembled for their first public appearance at a panel at the Austin-based festival, out of which emerged the brand-new trailer. The footage gives us more in-depth looks at key moments to come, including some involving groups we will meet along the way that are straight from the games.
Consisting of seven episodes,The Last of Us season 2 picks up five years after Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie’s (Bella Ramsey) dramatic odyssey across a pandemic-scarred America. They have settled in the Jackson, Wyo., community run by Joel’s sister-in-law, Maria (Rutina Wesley), but the ghosts of their past refuse to die. It’s during this time of relative peace when the arrival of a strange group led by Abby (Kaitlyn Dever), a skilled soldier seeking vengeance for those she loved, upends their lives.
The trailer reveals more looks at two additional groups that are integral to the story: the Seraphites and the WLFs. Without getting into too many details in order to preserve some of the season’s plot points, the Seraphites are a deeply religious cult-y group, while the WLFs are a large militia faction led by Jeffrey Wright‘s Isaac, who is also seen prominently in the teaser. Wright reprises his role after originating Isaac in the Part II video game.
Pascal, Ramsey, and Dever joined co-showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann, as well as cast members Gabriel Luna (Joel’s brother, Tommy), Isabela Merced (Ellie’s love interest, Dina), and Young Mazino (Ellie’s best friend and Dina’s ex, Jesse) at SXSW this weekend to preview season 2.
Mazin and Druckmann further teased the Seraphites and WLFs (the latter is an acronym for Washington Liberation Front), saying the Seraphites “appear to be somewhat agrarian” and “have these interesting scars on their cheeks that are clearly deliberately there.”
“Then the question is, who’s the bad guy?” Mazin said.
Additional game details they confirmed include the presence of Stalkers, a specific evolution of the Infected who quietly stalk their prey, and spores, the fungal spores from the game that allow the cordyceps infection to go airborne.
“There’s some pretty intense stuff you don’t even see in the trailer,” Druckmann teased.
Mazin added, “It’s crazier — it’s a wild roller coaster ride.”
“That world is louder, and it is more dangerous, and we have dug in,” Mazin said. “And, honestly, I think, if we don’t get canceled, next season will be even bigger.”
Pascal and Ramsey got somewhat sentimental talking about both their relationship as costars and their characters’ relationship. “Never leave me!” Pascal said, turning to Ramsey as the audience let out a collective “aww.”
Later in the panel, the star lauded his onscreen daughter figure, saying Ramsey made it “so easy and so welcoming” for the new cast members. “I think we all really looked to Bella this time around as far as the cast is concerned, and [there was] this kind of open permission to be ourselves and to partner together in the scenes, and I think that it is this sort of unspoken leadership that made it such an easy, horrifying place to step into.”
“In the story,” he clarified. “Not Canada.”
The season 2 cast also includes Spencer Lord as Owen, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, and Danny Ramirez as Manny, all members of Abby’s crew. Catherine O’Hara also guest-stars as Joel’s therapist in Jackson.
More recently, HBO confirmed that Joe Pantoliano will play Eugene, a small character from the game who will have a bigger presence on the show; Robert John Burke will play Seth, a local bar owner in Jackson; Noah Lamanna will play Kat, Ellie’s ex-girlfriend; and Alanna Ubach, Ben Ahlers, and Hettienne Park will play Hanrahan, Burton, and Elise Park, all new characters created for the drama.
The Last of Us season 2 premieres April 13 on HBO. Watch the new trailer above.
Additional reporting by Tiffany Kelly.
