Fans of HBO’s The Last of Us can breathe a sigh of relief, as co-showrunner Craig Mazin has confirmed that Bella Ramsey is returning for the second season of the hit series. Ramsey will once again portray the beloved character Ellie Williams, a young survivor of a post-apocalyptic world overrun by infected humans.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of the Last of Us season one finale, which aired on Sunday to critical acclaim. Ramsey’s portrayal of Ellie was widely praised by fans and critics alike and her return for the second season is sure to be welcome by viewers. In the interview with Deadline, Mazin spoke about the anxiety he feels about living up to the expectations set by the first season, and the pressure to deliver a satisfying continuation of the story.
“When she joined us, she was 17. She’s only, she’s 19 now. Which by the way is the age of Ellie in The Last of Us Part II, ” Mazin told Deadline. “People were like, ‘She doesn’t look like [Ellie].’ I’m like, ‘It doesn’t matter. Just watch what happens.’ And now they know. I think there is still this anxiety, this constant drumbeat of anxiety. And all I can say to people is, I have so much anxiety myself about doing a good job on this. If you’re anxious about something. I’m probably anxious about it, which means we’re talking about it and thinking about it.”
Mazin also hinted at some changes for the second season, stating that while the show will continue to be true to the spirit of the games, it will not be a carbon copy of the source material.
“We will present things, but it will be different,” Mazin teased. “It will be different just as this season was different. Sometimes it will be different radically, and sometimes it will be fairly different. It won’t be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil and I wanna make. But we are making it with Bella.”
What you need to know about The Last of Us
Developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, The Last of Us centers on the relationship between a smuggler named Joel Miler and 14-year-old Ellie Williams, the latter of whom may be the key to curing the deadly pandemic that resulted in the post-apocalypse world of the game. Hired to smuggle Ellie out of a quarantine zone, Joel finds himself relying on the teenage girl just as much as she relies on him as they fight to survive on their journey across the United States.
The Last of Us has been officially renewed for a second season by HBO, with production expected to kick off later this year. Its season one cast also includes Pedro Pascal, Anna Torv, Nico Parker, Murray Bartlett, Nick Offerman, Storm Reid, Jeffrey Pierce, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Woodard, Graham Greene, Elaine Miles, Melanie Lynskey, Rutina Wesley, Brad Leland, Troy Baker and Ashley Johnson.
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