Amid uncertainties surrounding the future of The Last of Us video game series, fans eagerly await to see where the narrative might lead following the coverage of the second game in HBO's Season 2 and 3. Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, the series creator, expressed doubts about the development of The Last of Us 3, stating, "I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it."
This raises the question: If there's no The Last of Us 3, would Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the TV series beyond the existing games? IGN posed this very question to Druckmann at the red carpet event ahead of The Last of Us Season 2 premiere. Druckmann shared that he has a clear ending in mind for The Last of Us story, but he's uncertain about the opportunity to create The Last of Us 3, thus he's committed to leaving no stone unturned.
"I have to have an ending," Druckmann stated. "When I made The Last of Us 1, I didn’t know if there was going to be a sequel, so that had to be a definitive ending. When I worked on Uncharted 4, I don’t know if we’ll ever get to do it again. I need it to be a definitive ending. Last of Us 2, same way. All these things have to line up."I don’t know how long I’ll keep doing this or whether I’ll be given another opportunity. So I leave nothing on the line.
"Right now it’s like, we have an ending in mind. And that ending will be it. That ending will be it for this story."
Another concern is whether Druckmann would have the time to develop The Last of Us 3, should it be approved for production. His current commitments include overseeing the completion of The Last of Us TV series, which will adapt the events of The Last of Us 2 in Season 2 and Season 3, as well as working on the newly announced PlayStation game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
"As far as everything else, and you’re asking me about future games, my time so much is, we have to finish this season," Druckmann elaborated. "We’re not quite done. We’re almost there. Knock on wood we get to do it again. Season 3, there’s a lot more story we have to cover, as you know with game two.
"And then my hands are pretty full with Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet."
The Last of Us Season 2 Character Posters
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In February 2024, Druckmann hinted at a "concept" for a potential The Last of Us 3 during the end of Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2, suggesting that there might be "probably one more chapter to this story."
"The first game had such a clean concept of like, the unconditional love a parent feels for their child," he explained. "The second one, once we landed on this idea of the pursuit of justice at any cost, justice for the ones you love, we felt like, 'there's a clean concept here and there's a throughline from the first game, about love.' If we never get to do it again, this is a fine ending point. Last bite of the apple, the story's done."
"The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don't have to," he added. "It's always like, 'we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys feel you're passionate about something else, we'll support this other thing.' Very privileged position to be in, I never take that for granted. I've been just thinking about it, 'is there a concept there?' And for now years, I haven't been able to find that concept. But recently, that's changed, and I don't have a story, but I do have that concept that to me is as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2, is its own thing, and yet has this throughline for all three. So it does feel like there's probably one more chapter to this story."
