Spring 2025 is still a distant dot on the horizon, but that’s when we can expect to see one of the biggest shows of the year debuting, as HBO is reportedly planning on an April or May debut for The Last of Us Season 2. That leaves fans with a lot of time to speculate about which source material moments and locations will show up in the highly acclaimed video game adaptation, but some new looks behind the scenes of the horror drama seem to confirm some memorable (and dangerous) settings that will make the jump from digital to live-action.
While nothing seen in the set photos and videos is guaranteed to make it to the small screen when The Last of Us returns with new episodes, we can for the moment anticipate seeing a pair of recognizable businesses that Bella Ramsey’s Ellie will presumably poke around in a time or two. But before that, let’s do some poking ourselves.
Weston's Pharmacy
It appears as if one of the video game series’ more prominent business chains will make an appearance, as everybody watching The Last of Us Season 2 on HBO or via a Max subscription will likely see some shit go down in and around at least one brick and mortar location of Weston’s Pharmacy. Here’s hoping it hasn’t been completely ransacked by looters just yet.
In a video and images shared by @CaptCanuck66 on X, a variety of crew members can be seen walking around a dedicated Vancouver filming spot within the picturesque Oceanic Plaza at the center of the financial district. Bella Ramsey can also be seen on horseback in the area, so it seems very likely that their character Ellie will at least zip through the area, though I’d expect at least one fright-filled sequence to go down within the pharmacy itself.
As gamers will no doubt remember, Weston’s appears several times as the characters travel west, specifically within Left Behind and The Last of Us 2. In the DLC, Ellie has to find the key to the pharmacy inside the mall to get supplies for the incapacitated Joel. And in the full-length sequel, one of the supply-filled safes is located inside a Weston’s. I can only hope that something more hair-raising will take place in the TV version.
Also, I’ll never stop being impressed by how much the Last of Us team can make real-world buildings look so much like the games through plant overgrowth. So even if Weston’s is only easter egg signage in the background without anyone actually going inside, I’m cool with that. But the same can’t be said for this next one.
KMAB Channel 13
The Last of Us Season 2 is apparently bringing the horrors inside the KMAB Channel 13 TV station to life (or death, as it were) during the show’s Seattle-set arc. Though to offer an immediate caveat, the picture tweets shared by @jeronandor aren’t of any actual locations, so we can’t say with full certainty that it’ll appear in The Last of Us Season 2. Still, it seems pretty easy to make assumptions.
The fan captured shots of a trailer transporting an already burned up and dilapidated KMAB news van, as well as another unmarked car in a similarly rundown state. It looks very much like the van that players come across in the grassy area behind the news station itself, where supplies can be found in the back. That area also features a FEDRA vehicle, though not the same as the other car being transported.
Considering that moment takes place just outside the KMAB building, it seems unlikely that Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann would only bring the van in without utilizing that key moment from the game itself. I won’t get into spoilers here for anyone who hasn’t played, but suffice to say deaths play into it, and I’m betting the creative team will spice things up with a tweaked detail or two to keep familiar gamers surprised.
As a huge fan of the source material, I’m more excited by Kaitlyn Dever’s casting as Abby than I am about most things coming to television in 2025, and I cannot wait for HBO to drop an official first look at the sympathetic antagonist. New Last of Us cast member Isabella Merced is doing her own part to spark hype for the upcoming season, teasing a moment that will “be on everyone’s Twitter feed,” in reference to her character Dina’s relationship with Ramsey’s Ellie, and presumably not THE video game moment that will spark potential riots in live-action.
Check out all the upcoming horror TV shows that will be popping up as we await The Last of Us Season 2 hitting HBO in 2025.
