The first season of HBO’s The Last of Us has been a massive hit on the streaming platform. This is largely due to Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey’s portrayal of Joel and Ellie, however fans who have played the second game know that the former's character only sticks around for so long.

Fans have been concerned about Joel’s fate in Season 2 of The Last of Us. The upcoming season follows the story of The Last of Us Part 2 in which Joel dies at the hands of Abby - rather gruesomely, at that.

Pascal hasn’t tried playing the game but is aware of Joel’s fate in the second game. The actor claims that he is unsure of the showrunner’s plans for his character. "It wouldn’t make sense to follow the first game so faithfully only to stray severely from the path," Pascal said in an interview with Esquire. "So, yeah, that’s my honest answer."

Co-star Bella Ramsey also weighed in on Joel’s fate, saying, "If that does take place in the show, I don’t know that I’m emotionally ready for it." Craig Mazin, who co-writes and executive produces HBO’s The Last of Us with Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann, suggests that they are exploring all options with regard to Joel’s fate in the second season.

"This should be fairly obvious to anyone by now, but I don’t fear killing characters," Mazin said. "But the important thing to note is that neither Neil nor I feel constrained by the source material." Whatever Joel’s fate is in season 2, fans will have to wait for several years to find out. Ramsey teased that the second season is a long way away.

"It will be a while," Ramsey said about the second season. "I think we’ll probably shoot at the end of this year, beginning of next. And then it’s a long, it’s like a year filming, so it will be probably the end of 2024, early 2025."

HBO renewed The Last of Us for a second season just three weeks after the series premiered. The first season was an instant hit among viewers on the streaming platform. The show’s viewership numbers are second to House of the Dragon.

Mazin and Druckmann teased that there may be a third season for the TV series. The series co-writers said that the second season may not cover the entirety of the plot for The Last of Us Part II. However, they will not confirm how many seasons are coming for the show.