HBO

Craig Mazin explains the moral shift coming in The Last of Us Season 3: “the people that you root for are not good all the time”

As filming begins, the showrunner says the HBO series will challenge the idea of heroes and villains through Abby’s point of view.

Gabriel Huerta

Update: May 15th, 2026 20:26 CEST

Filming for Season 3 of ‘The Last of Us’ on HBO has already begun, kicking off the wait for the second part of the story from ‘The Last of Us Part II’ to arrive as a series. This third season will allow us to see the story from Abby’s perspective, played by Kaitlyn Dever, and in light of this, showrunner Craig Mazin has spoken about what we can expect.

Warning: Spoilers for The Last of Us Part II follow.

One of the central themes of The Last of Us Part II is how our actions have consequences, and that even if you feel like the hero, you can also be the villain in someone else’s story. When you start the game and Abby kills Joel, you don’t realize that this is a story of revenge, and that she came to avenge her father’s death at the end of the first game. This theme is explored in depth, leading the player to understand that the characters’ decisions aren’t always the right ones.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Craig Mazin spoke about these issues. “We knew what we were doing there, and what I love about that story is that you are denied your heroes and you’re denied your villains. What you are forced to reconcile with is that the people that you care about and root for are not good all the time. It is a question of perspective and narrative,” Mazin said. “It’s a very powerful thing to be given a story that gives you a hero and that makes your side good. That is fundamental to most religions — and it is fundamental to most politics now. It creates a tribalism. It’s “us versus them,” and it happens very, very quickly. What I loved about the story of the game, which is in line with what I am pursuing on the show, is that it is not that simple.”

Season 3 with Major Departures

Although Season 3 of ‘The Last of Us’ does not yet have a release date, it will not feature key figures who were part of the first two seasons. Neil Druckmann, the series’ co-creator and director of the original game, is leaving the series to focus on future projects at Naughty Dog. Along with him, co-writer Halley Gross has also announced her departure. In response, Mazin commented on how much this will affect the season.