"The Last of Us Season 2 Trailer Shatters HBO Records Prematurely"

The buzz surrounding the second season of *The Last of Us* is palpable, even before its release. The latest trailer for Season 2, unveiled at a SXSW panel, has shattered records by amassing over 158 million views across various platforms within just three days. Warner Brothers Discovery reports that this is a historic achievement for HBO and Max original content, with the trailer surpassing the performance of previous promos by a staggering 160%.

You can’t stop this.

#TheLastOfUs returns April 13 on Max. pic.twitter.com/DH8UzAugIV

— Max (@StreamOnMax) March 8, 2025

As anticipation builds, the show's popularity continues to soar. Season 1 episodes are now averaging around 32 million viewers across platforms in the U.S., a significant increase from the 8.2 million who tuned in for the Season 1 finale in March 2023. This surge in viewership reflects the immense excitement and rewatch enthusiasm among fans eagerly awaiting the next installment. *The Last of Us* has emerged as one of HBO's most successful series in recent years, underscored by these impressive figures.

The Last of Us Season 2 Character Posters

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Season 2 will feature a five-year time jump, continuing to follow Joel and Ellie as they navigate a world fraught with new dangers and escalating conflicts. Returning stars Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, and Rutina Wesley will be joined by new cast members including Kaitlyn Dever, Isabella Merced, Catherine O’Hara, and Jeffrey Wright, adding fresh dynamics to the narrative.

At the SXSW panel, showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin made an exciting revelation: the return of spores, which were absent in Season 1. The trailer hints at this development with a scene showing Ellie, portrayed by Bella Ramsey, encountering an infected whose breath releases spores. Druckmann elaborated on the heightened stakes for Season 2, stating, "There is an escalation of numbers and types of infected, but also, as you see in the trailer, an escalation of the vector of how this thing spreads." He highlighted the introduction of airborne spores, complementing the tendrils seen in Season 1, as a new form of transmission.

Mazin confirmed the spores' return, and Druckmann added that their inclusion was a deliberate narrative choice, saying, "The reason [we’re doing it now], I mean, we really wanted to figure it out, and again, everything has to be drama. There had to be a dramatic reason of introducing it now. And there is."

*The Last of Us* Season 2 is set to premiere on April 13, 2025, on HBO and HBO Max, promising fans an even more thrilling and intense continuation of this gripping saga.