The Last of Us season 2 first-look footage released with new cast members
We finally have glimpses of Isabela Merced, Kaitlyn Dever and Catherine O'Hara's new characters.
HBO sure knows how to drum up a major dose of excitement - and with the release of its latest teaser trailer, it's achieved just that and more.
As well as getting a look at all the exciting new Max shows set to come out later this year and next, fans of The Last of Us were overjoyed to get an elongated glimpse at what's to come in the anticipated second season.
Sure, we've had first-look images, but with the longest slot in the teaser trailer, The Last of Us season 2 looks to be just as dramatic as (if not more than) the first.
Not only do we get a quickfire snapshot into some of the gun-wielding action to come, but we also, most excitingly, get our first look at some of the new characters joining the series.
The clip in question sees Joel (Pedro Pascal) being asked by Catherine O'Hara's mystery character: "Did you hurt her?"
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As Joel quietly whispers "no", we get some fleeting scenes of Ellie (Bella Ramsey) screaming on a gurney, and Joel's brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna) using a sniper gun to take out the infected that are about to storm his hideout.
Elsewhere, there are more gun fights as we catch glimpses of Jeffrey Wright's character and Ellie both turning their weapons on the enemy – as for who that actually is, we'll have to wait and see.
But the clip ends with Joel tearfully stating to O'Hara's character: "I saved her."
While we know that season 2 will follow on in the same vein of adapting the video games (and The Last of Us Part 2 in particular), this exchange of dialogue shows that the showrunners aren't sticking exactly to script.
Actually, the very same scene plays out with Joel in the game, but he delivers that line to his brother Tommy.
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Of course, details about the upcoming season are being kept under wraps for those that haven't played the game - so that means, as of now, we don't have names for O'Hara or Wright's characters.
However, we do get blink-and-you'll-miss-it glances at Kaitlyn Dever's Abby and Isabela Merced's Dana.
And while fans of the games will already know in what direction the second season will go, it doesn't mean that there won't be some surprises in store too. Showrunner Craig Mazin previously revealed as much in an interview with ComicBook.com.
He admitted: "It will be different. Just as this season was different. Sometimes it will be different radically and sometimes it will be barely different at all. But it's going to be different and it will be its own thing."
He added: "It won't be exactly like the game. It will be the show that Neil [Druckmann, co-creator] and I want to make."
As of now, there's no exact release date, but we do know that the new season will be landing on our screens sometime in 2025.
The Last of Us season 2 is coming in 2025. Season 1 is available on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership.
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