The first season of The Last of Us (opens in new tab) recently concluded on HBO in what The Guardian (opens in new tab) called "a brutal and sadistic triumph of television." The entire series was critically and viewer acclaimed (opens in new tab), and to no one's surprise, a second season (opens in new tab) was announced in January.

However, some fans of "The Last of Us" game were not entirely satisfied with the show, especially in that the story sometimes differed from the game. For example, an episode about the relationship between supporting characters Bill and Frank, which was never depicted in the game, was widely praised for depicting their "whole, beautiful, devastating love story," as Out (opens in new tab) described it, while IMDB.com (opens in new tab) conducted an ugly review bombing campaign was also launched.

In an online press conference prior to the debut of the Season 1 finale (via EW.com (opens in new tab)), showrunner Craig Mazin said that reaction to their approach to the second season, which will sometimes deviate from the game as the first season did He stated that he would not change.

"Just as this season was different [from the first game], season two will be different. 'Some things will be radically different, some things will stay pretty much the same. But it will be different, it will be unique. It won't be exactly the same as the games. It will be the show Neil and I want to create."

Mazin also addressed a question about whether Bella Ramsey, who plays Ellie, would return for the second season, stating, "We're working with Bella."

Since The Last of Us 2 takes place five years after The Last of Us, this character has led to speculation that the character may be recast with older actors.

"When we created the game, we felt incredibly lucky," said showrunner and "The Last of Us" game creative director Neil Truckman.

"Finding Ashley Johnson was like lightning in a bottle. And somehow, lightning struck again in Bella."

"The only way we would consider recasting Bella is if she said, 'I don't want to work with you guys anymore. Even then, I don't know if we would approve it. We might still force her to come back for season two."

The Last of Us Part 1 will be released on PC on March 28 and is available on Steam (open in new tab) and the Epic Games Store (open in new tab). An RTX 2070 Super is required to achieve 1080p 60fps on high settings, but it can be lowered slightly if needed.