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Naughty Dog has teased it could make The Last of Us: Part III. Co-writer and co-director of the first two games, Neil Druckmann, said in a new documentary that he thinks there is “probably one more chapter to this story.”
“I’ve been thinking–is there a concept there [for The Last of Us 3]? For, now years, I haven’t been able to find that concept. But recently that’s changed. I don’t have a story. But I do have that concept that is, to me, as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2,” he said. “As 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.”
Of note, this documentary was seemingly filmed some time ago. It’s an official production made in partnership with Naughty Dog. As such, presumably it includes only the information that was deemed acceptable to share publicly, including Druckmann’s comments on a potential new Last of Us game.
But if Naughty Dog never makes a third entry in the series, Druckmann said The Last of Us: Part II is a “fine ending point.”
“I had the last bite of the apple. The story is done. The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don’t have to [make The Last of Us 3]. We would love another Last of Us,” he said, cautioning, though, that if the team wants to make something else, they’ll make something else instead.
“It’s a very privileged position to be in,” he said.
Also in the interview, Druckmann clarified his comments from 2021 when he suggested he already had an outline for The Last of Us 3. That’s not true, he said. What he was referring to at the time was an outline for a story focusing on the character Tommy.
“We have written a story that takes place after The Last of Us 2. It stars Tommy. And I hope one day we get to make it,” Druckmann said, adding that this was never conceived as a full game but instead a smaller, more focused story.
Naughty Dog did not make this Tommy game because the studio had “higher priorities” at the time, including improving the company’s development pipeline and addressing the company’s work/life balance issues that made headlines.
Druckmann went on to say he’s hopeful the Tommy story can “see the light of day” someday, whether it’s told through a game, a show, or something else. “TBD,” he said.
Naughty Dog recently canceled its Last of Us multiplayer game and is now shifting its focus squarely on the two single-player games it has in the works. These remain unannounced, and many are expecting one of them to be The Last of Us 3. The other could be a new IP.
Naughty Dog has said it is done with the Uncharted series, despite that franchise’s massive commercial success. A different studio could come in to make Uncharted 5, though.
In other news, HBO’s The Last of Us TV series returns in 2025, and it just recently added another big name to its cast.
