Casting for HBO's The Last of Us Season 2 Grinds to a Halt as WGA Strike Continues | Push Square

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The effects of the ongoing Writers Guild of America strike continue reverberating through the entertainment industry, with the insanely successful adaptation of The Last of Us caught in the crossfire. Casting for season two of the hit show has ground to a halt, with series co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin spotted on the picket line, supporting the strike (GQ has a great primer if you're totally lost).

According to a new report from Variety, preparations for casting had been underway but will now be indefinitely placed on hold until the strike has been resolved. There are even reports of the casting team asking auditioning actors to read lines taken directly from the game on which the upcoming season will be based, The Last of Us: Part II, due to the fact that there are no writers producing scripts.

While it's still too early to tell how this all shakes out, it is hoped that shooting will resume in Vancouver in early 2024. Mazin wrote the majority of the nine-episode first season, with the seventh episode, «Left Behind», being penned solely by one of the original creators of the IP and the co-president of Naughty Dog himself, Neil Druckmann. The two joined forces for both the series premiere and finale, sharing writing credits.

Could the writer's strike have lasting effects on HBO's The Last of Us? The last time the WGA went on strike, essential series like Lost and Heroes never recovered — proof it's important to take care of your writers. Show your solidarity in the comments section below.

Khayl Adam is the second best video game journalist Australia has ever produced, and his ambitions of world domination have (thus far) been curbed by the twin siren songs of strategy games and CRPGs. He has always felt an