Casting for The Last of Us Season 2 on hold due to strike

Season 2 of HBO's "The Last of Us" is the latest entertainment production to be affected by the Hollywood writers' strike, which is entering its third week after members of the Writers Guild of America and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers failed to reach an agreement on remaining payments to streaming services.

According to Variety, Craig Mazin, co-creator and showrunner for HBO's The Last of Us, was recently spotted on the strike team. Casting for the second season of the show was underway but has now been put on hold.

A source familiar with the show's production told Variety that since the second season script has not yet been completed, the casting team asked the auditioned actors to read lines from "The Last of Us Part II." HBO hopes to start production in early 2024, with filming to take place in Vancouver.

Neil Druckmann, co-president of Naughty Dog and vice president of production for HBO series, has yet to comment on the matter or the ongoing strike, which has affected several high-profile TV shows including Netflix's "Stranger Things."