The Last of Us showrunners aren’t ruling out the idea of more Joel in Season 3. The Last of Us is a show that makes fans fall in love with people before brutally killing them. Season 1 did this almost every other episode, helping the audience understand just how heavy this world really is. However, those who’d never played the games probably weren’t expecting Joel to have his head caved in with a golf club in the second episode of Season 2. Of course, Joel does pop up again via some flashbacks later in the season, but he is definitively gone from the present day storyline.
Obviously, Pedro Pascal was a huge draw for fans of the show, but he’s big time now. He’s in Marvel and Star Wars, amongst other big projects. He doesn’t have the kind of schedule to commit the next decade of his life to a TV series. That was Pascal’s understanding when he signed on as well, as the actor revealed to Entertainment Weekly earlier this year that he was informed that his commitment to the show largely revolved around the first season. However, perhaps there’s still some room for him to still return in a future season.
The Last of Us Could Bring Back Pedro Pascal as Joel in Future Seasons
As The Last of Us Season 3 enters development, many are wondering what happens next for a character like Ellie. If the show continues to follow the game, Ellie and her crew probably won’t be featured too heavily. Some have also wondered if Pedro Pascal’s Joel is truly gone, and it turns out, the team behind the show isn’t ruling anything out. Showrunners Neil Druckmann and Craig Mazin were asked during a press conference about the possibility of exploring the unseen years of Joel and Tommy after Sarah’s death. Druckmann noted that sometimes it’s better to just let things be a mystery or not be fully shown, but he and Mazin aren’t against the idea of having a Tommy and Joel episode if it makes sense.
“We definitely went pretty far down the road of at least showing a moment from that time period,” said Mazin. “So, I think Neil’s right, we’d never say never. And this season was tricky because it was so driven by this traumatic event: Joel dies. And once Joel dies, it is so big and impactful that you don’t have quite as much room to sort of wander down some side streets, you really need to stick to what happens as a result of that, as well as what happened leading up to it. But I think next season, we probably will have a bit more flexibility. And you know, we love a side trip to Indonesia, it’s one of our favorite things to do, so maybe a side trip to, you know, Joel and Tommy terrorizing the countryside, we’ll never know.”
Of course, only time will tell what happens. The Last of Us Season 3 will have a lot to tackle and who knows if scheduling would even allow Pedro Pascal to make an appearance. He may still be shooting Avengers movies next year, especially since they both just got big delays. Of course, part of the story of the game is allowing the audience to feel Joel’s absence. So, it may be detrimental to bring him back. The loss can only be felt if he’s not actively there in the story, though it would be shocking if we never saw him again between now and the series finale.
Do you want Joel to return in The Last of Us? Let me know in the comments!
The post The Last of Us Showrunners Aren’t Ruling Out Joel’s Return in Season 3 appeared first on ComicBook.com.
