“The Last of Us” 'may require season 4,' creators tease

"I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after season 2 is complete in one more season," Neil Druckmann says.

It looks like we could be getting more seasons of The Last of Us than initially projected.

HBO is currently at work filming season 2, which EW can confirm will consist of seven episodes and is two episodes shorter than season 1. While additional seasons beyond that have not been ordered by the Home Box Office network, creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann express their hope for a four-season order.

“We don’t think that we’re going to be able to tell the story [of Part II] even within two seasons, because we’re taking our time and go down interesting pathways which we did a little bit in season 1 too,” Mazin told Deadline. "We feel like it’s almost assuredly going to be the case that — as long as people keep watching and we can keep making more television — season 3 will be significantly larger. And indeed, the story may require season 4."

Related: The Last of Us season 2: Everything we know so far

“One thing is absolutely for sure," Druckmann said later on in the interview, "I don’t see how we could tell the story that remains after season 2 is complete in one more season."

Two images have been released of Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey returning to their roles of Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us season 2, which is prepping for a 2025 premiere.

In season 1, which adapted the events of 2013's PlayStation title The Last of Us (co-created by Druckmann), Joel is a hardened survivor living in a Boston quarantine zone, years after a fungal plague that turns the infected into vicious monsters reshaped the globe. He sets out on a cross-country odyssey across what's left of America with Ellie, a young teen who's the only known human immune to the virus.

Related: The Last of Us season 2 first look reunites Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey

Part II, which released on the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, took place five years after this story. Joel and Ellie are now living a peaceful life in a community with Joel's brother Tommy and his new sister-in-law Maria. But when a violent event disrupts that peace, Ellie sets out on a mission to bring those responsible to justice.

Season 2 will see Kaitlyn Dever as the pivotal character of Abby, Isabela Merced as Ellie's love interest Dina, Young Mazino as Ellie's friend Jesse, Ariela Barer as Mel, Tati Gabrielle as Nora, Spencer Lord as Owen, Danny Ramirez as Manny, Catherine O’Hara in an undisclosed guest-starring role, Gabriel Luna as Tommy, Rutina Wesley as Maria, and Jeffrey Wright as his video game character Isaac

Mazin said the events of season 2 are "inextricably linked and intertwined" with the events from season 1, including one particular episode the he teases is "quite bit." In general, he mentioned season 2 "is much bigger than the story of season 1."

Related: Jeffrey Wright will reprise his The Last of Us game character Isaac for season 2

“The story material that we got from Part II of the game is way more than the story material that was in the first game, so part of what we had to do from the start was figure out how to tell that story across seasons,” Mazin continued. “When you do that, you look for natural breakpoints, and as we laid it out, this season, the national breakpoint felt like it came after seven episodes.”

Druckmann added, "It's a continuation of love from the first season, and this is just the dark side of that coin, the pursuit of justice at any cost for the ones you love and the exploration of that."

Read the full interview at Deadline.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.