The Last Of Us Season 3 Confirmed By HBO Ahead Of Season 2 Premiere

One of the least surprising TV renewals was just announced: ahead of its season 2 premiere, "The Last of Us" is already confirmed to return for season 3.

Season 2 premieres on Sunday, April 13, but on April 9, the premium network home to the massively popular and critically adored video game adaptation told the world that the third season is a done deal. In a press release from Warner Bros. Discovery, one of the two showrunners, Craig Mazin, released a statement that said, "We approached season [2] with the goal of creating something we could be proud of. The end results have exceeded even our most ambitious goals, thanks to our continued collaboration with HBO and the impeccable work of our unparalleled cast and crew. We look forward to continuing the story of 'The Last of Us' with season [3]!"

Neil Druckmann, who created the original game with Naughty Dog and works as a showrunner alongside Mazin, also released a statement through the studio. "To see The Last of Us brought to life so beautifully and faithfully has been a career highlight for me, and I am grateful for the fans' enthusiastic and overwhelming support," Druckmann said. "Much of that success is thanks to my partner in crime, Craig Mazin, our partnership with HBO, and our team at PlayStation Productions. On behalf of everyone at Naughty Dog, our cast, and crew, thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity. We're thrilled to bring you more of 'The Last of Us!'"

This announcement does raise one important question: how long will Druckmann and Mazin keep "The Last of Us" going? According to a report in Deadline, there's no word on whether or not season 3 of the series will serve as its final outing — but it's certainly possible, based on the trajectory of the game (without getting into any spoilers).

Again, season 2 of "The Last of Us" hasn't premiered yet ... but the reason this renewal is so unsurprising is that the show is one of HBO's biggest projects at the moment, and in its sophomore season, the show is set to significantly expand its scope and bring in a ton of new characters alongside Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) and his surrogate daughter Ellie (Bella Ramsey), both of whom return in season 2. (I should also note that, ahead of its release, season 2 of "The Last of Us" is already earning great reviews from critics, including a rave from /Film's own Jeremy Mathai.)

Isabela Merced, Young Mazino, Catherine O'Hara, Jeffrey Wright, Tati Gabrielle, Kaitlyn Dever, and even HBO veteran Joe Pantoliano are just a few of the massively talented performers joining the second season of "The Last of Us" (and though there's some information about their roles out there, I won't traffic in spoilers here). Across seven episodes, the season will roughly adapt half of "The Last of Us Part II," the 2020 sequel to the original 2013 game that also earned overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its release, so fans who have already played the game and audiences who have never picked up a Playstation controller in their lives both have reasons to be excited, especially now that they know the story is set to continue.

"The Last of Us" season 2 premieres on Sunday, April 13 at 9 P.M. EST on Max and HBO.