(Photo by: HBO)

The Last of Us is feeling the impact of the writers strike. Casting for season two of the series has been shut down.

Starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey, the series is set two decades after a mass fungal infection causes a global pandemic and a zombie outbreak that causes much of the world’s human population to be wiped out. A middle-aged survivor named Joel (Pascal) is tasked with transporting a young girl named Ellie (Ramsey), hoping she may hold a cure to the world’s problem. Guests in the first season include Nico Parker, Merle Dandridge, Anna Torv, Gabriel Luna, Lamar Johnson, Keivonn Montreal Woodard, Melanie Lynskey, Jeffrey Pierce, Murray Bartlett, and Nick Offerman.

The Last of Us was renewed for a second season by HBO after only two episodes aired in January.  The initial plan was to use scenes from the video game the season will be based on – The Last of Us Part II – to audition actors for the HBO series, but that plan has been scrapped.

Variety revealed that no scripts for season two of the series have been written yet. Creators Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann have decided not to cross the picket line and work on any projects until the strike ends.

Once the strike is resolved and, if things can move forward quickly, the plan is to film episodes for The Last of Us season two in early 2024 in Vancouver.

What do you think? Are you a fan of The Last of Us on HBO? Do you plan to watch season two when it eventually debuts?