HBO boss Casey Bloys has mentioned again that he believes The Last of Us series will be finished in three seasons.

Speaking to Deadline at an Emmys afterparty, Bloys said “I think [showrunner] Craig [Mazin] has planned it as the final season,” when asked if Season 3 will be the last one. Bloys said a similar thing in February, telling Deadline “it certainly seems that way”, when asked whether the third season will be The Last of Us’ finale.

These statements contradict what Craig Maizin has been saying about the show, which is that there’s “no way” to wrap up The Last of Us story in three seasons. However, Bloys’ comments are more recent than Maizin’s, suggesting something might have changed.

The Last of Us Season 3 airs at some point next year, and is due to focus more on Abby’s story from The Last of Us Part 2. The series separated Abby and Ellie’s stories in a way that was different to the alternating structure of the games. This was one of the reasons there was a more divided reaction to the second series, after the first series had been almost universally applauded. Could this dip in audience response have influenced HBO’s enthusiasm for making a fourth season?

Of course, Maizin is also hard at work adapting the beloved Baldur’s Gate 3 for HBO, the project having been announced early this year. He himself is a big fan of the game, and while the game’s developer Larian is not involved, it has welcomed Maizin to its offices and apparently discussed ideas with him.