The Last of Us Season 2 may be delayed due to strike

Showrunner and co-creator Craig Mazin confirmed that production on the second season of The Last of Us has begun and the script for the first episode has been completed, but production has been suspended due to the current writers' strike.

“We already knew what the entire season was going to be about, and I was actually able to write and submit the first episode before the deadline,” Mazin told DEADLINE.

"So now I'm just walking around writing in my head, and I'm not scab-ing. I'm thinking up scenes as I go along, because when the bell rings and it's over and these companies finally wake up, I'm going to pretty much shoot it out of a cannon because we really want this show to air on time."

In addition, Mazin said that Halley Gross, the screenwriter of "The Last of Us 2", has also joined the team for the second season of the series.

He said: "Neil and I have been talking to Halley Gross, who also wrote the second game, and BoShim, who is the new change, in this little room with us - obviously it's not a mini room, because we got the green light on paper, we are a full-fledged series, and I hate those mini rooms and things like that."

While the producer remains hopeful that The Last of Us Season 2 will be released in 2025, he said the strike may mean the studio will have to push back the release date.

“It hurts us, it hurts the audience, and it hurts HBO,” Mazin said.

"All of us, everybody wants to get back to work; I think everybody that's actually doing the work, including the network guys that are out there with us, I think everybody wants to get this resolved. So fingers crossed."