Amid uncertainties about the future of The Last of Us video game series, fans are eager to learn where the story might lead after the HBO series Season 2 and 3, which will cover the events of the second video game. Earlier this month, series creator Neil Druckmann hinted at the possibility that The Last of Us 3 might not come to fruition, 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."
The question then arises: if there's no The Last of Us 3, would Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the TV show beyond the games? IGN posed this question to Druckmann on the red carpet before the premiere of The Last of Us Season 2. He responded by saying that he has an ending in mind for The Last of Us story, but given the uncertainty about making The Last of Us 3, he's ensuring that the story's conclusion is definitive.
"I have to have an ending," Druckmann explained. "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 didn’t know if we’d ever get to do it again. I needed it to be a definitive ending. *The 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 will have the time to create The Last of Us 3, should it be approved for production. His current commitments include overseeing The Last of Us TV show, which will conclude the events of The Last of Us 2 in Seasons 2 and 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 is so much, we have to finish this season," Druckmann continued. "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 at 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 the unconditional love a parent feels for their child," he said. "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."
