The Last of Us 3 might happen, but it's still far from being a done deal. However, we now got first leaks which indicate where the journey could lead us.
Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann mentioned a potential The Last of Us Part 3 in the Script Apart podcast a while ago in 2021.A possible story for a sequel to Part 2 has already been outlined by Druckmann and his co-author Halley Gross. But the director remains very tight-lipped about a possible third game in the series. According to him, he's not sure yet whether this story will actually be realized for a third part in the series.
The Last of Us 3: First Story Details Leaked
A third game in the series seems to be in active production now. This was claimed by famed and reliable leaker @ViewerAnon, who has revealed several scoops before. According to them, The Last of Us 3 is in production and will be Neil Druckmann's next game.
In early July, ViewerAnon had more news to share. They said that Ellie will be just as important in The Last of Us Part 3 as she was in Part 2. And we'll have to say: duh. Obviously she will be, she is arguably the main character since the very first game.
Interestingly though, they also said that "major filming is happening this year", probably meaning motion capture and audio recordings. If the game is already that far in the production process, it's pretty likely we'll soon get further updates from Naughty Dog.
Keep the HBO show in mind, though: if everything goes according to plan, they will start filming this year as well for season 2. It's possible there's a slight mix-up happening here. So, remember to take these leaks with a grain of salt.
Another hint about the third installment of the beloved game series is the supposed leak from Twitter User @DanielRPK. Hidden behind a pay wall of his patreon, he claims to have infos about the further cast besides Ellie as well as parts of the plot. Reddit user u/-LastGrail- shared what's up with that:
Part of the plot will be about a group of scavengers surviving on the outskirts of a post apocalyptic city, crammed into a Victorian house that serves as their base.
According to that, Naughty Dog is looking to cast these five new roles:
- Lucas, a friendly guy who develops a relationship with another scavenger and takes a dark turn
- Val, female, leader of the group
- Ezra, male, wants to take over the house from Val
- Mason, a former soldier. When Val gets put in charge, Mason must choose between his loyalty to Ezra and the house
- Gracie, female, 18 - 25 years old with no further information
If this turns out to be true, this is huge. This sounds like it could be its own game with its own cast. How could all of that tie into not only Ellie's but also Abby's stories? Will they even intertwine again? And who the hell is Gracie?
Druckmann is infamous for letting the actors in on character development of their roles (that's why Ellie is obsessed with space: because her actress, Ashley Johnson, is as well) – so does that mean Gracie will play such a huge role in the plot that it's important for the actress who will play her to give input once she's been cast? Sounds like a possible third main protagonist.
This scavenger crew could also be just an arc in Ellie's journey (just like Henry and Sam were in the first game, for example) or another random group she runs into like the Rattlers were in Part 2. Another possibility is that the leak and the cast really is The Last of Us related, but we're looking at the wrong game.
Remember the multiplayer game Naughty Dog teased that didn't get to see the light of day? Yeah, that would've needed a cast with a story, right?
Either way, we can't be sure what's to come until Druckmann himself comes forward and tells us what's up.
The original Last of Us was released in 2013 and Part II was released 7 years later in 2020, so we imagine a third game would take around the same time. We think 2026 at the earliest for a release. We have to be patient a little longer. But it's still fun to speculate, so let's do that!
How The Story Could Continue In The Last of Us Part 3
Attention! You can expect spoilers about The Last of Us and The Last of Us Part II in the following section.
In the second game, Ellie was looking for revenge for Joel's murder and had to handle her relationship with her girlfriend Dina. Those who played the game will know that a lot of things were left unanswered: Ellie left Abby alive, and Dina vanished after Ellie ignored her pleas to stay.
So there is plenty of room for a continuation with Ellie as the main character again, which would certainly be the wish of many players as well. And it's a sure-bet that Abby will be included again. There may even be a third main character, with a new personal story.
In The Last of Us Part 3, the story will probably come full circle. The Last of Us 2 was primarily about the conflict between Ellie and Abby and their respective struggles to come to terms with a personal loss. The Cordyceps pandemic, on the other hand, was rarely discussed.
This higher story strand will probably be concluded in Part 3. And the template already exists: Abby could take over her father's legacy and develop the vaccine, and Ellie carries the antibody. So Ellie could still complete what Joel once couldn't bring himself to do. This would also follow a certain order, which would be: love, revenge, redemption.... (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3). Especially when Ellie and Abby have to cooperate. That offers a lot of potential for exciting conflicts! If you ask me, I hope that Naughty Dog will go for a happy ending.
A third main character makes sense in that regard that it would continue the tradition (can you call it "tradition" if it only happened once? I will either way) of introducing a new main character in Part 3. Three main protagonists could be too much though – I mean, I wouldn't mind getting a game with 80 hours of play time, but if it's not an extra long game, having a third protagonist equals less time for the previous two.
And let's be honest, Ellie and Abby have a lot to do after the ending of Part 2. Ellie basically left her family of Dina and JJ and has to fix this whole disaster. Maybe even more important, Ellie doesn't deserve to have her ending be "walking into the woods alone, with two fingers less and looking like a kicked puppy" and if that's it for her, I will gladly fling myself into an active volcano – pretty sure Naughty Dog won't do that to Ellie, though. Her story is not over.
Same goes for Abby, though. The last we've seen of her was her and Lev leaving on a boat to lick their wounds but they still had the plan of getting to the new Firefly base. If the Fireflies still search for a cure, Abby could have some interesting news for them. Or we get the whole "unlikely friendship" storyline from that: Abby won't rat Ellie out because she saved Lev, maybe even save her in return.
We'd need a dang good narrative reason for them teaming up, though. Not sure if Ellie's reluctant forgiveness (if it can even be called "forgiveness" – just because she didn't kill Abby when she had the chance, doesn't mean she actually forgave her) goes so far as to team up with the one who killed Joel in front of her. Why Abby would be stoked to travel with Ellie is beyond me as well. They'd need to cook up something really good for that to work.
Abby and Ellie teaming up actually makes sense on a meta level as well: Ashley Johnson and Laura Bailey, actresses of Ellie and Abby, are really good friends in real life and have crazy chemistry as well as the awards for both characters to back their great performances up. Not having them in the same narrative seems like a huge waste.
On the other hand, Naughty Dog enjoys subverting expectations. So please keep in mind: those are speculations and at the end of the day, it's Druckman and his team writing the story. We'll just have to trust they can keep up the high standards they set for themselves.
The Last of Us Series Creator Talks About Sequel
Druckmann was asked about The Last of Us 3 recently, as he always seems to be. He acknowledged the excitement around a potential third game, saying that he "hears about it all the time". But is this the next game Naughty Dog is working on?
He doesn't commit to it, but very much leaves the possibility for TLOU Part 3 open.
At the end of every project we purposefully explore several different projects. Some of them might be a sequel, and then a bunch of new ideas. And then we feel like, where do our passions lie? I know the fans really want The Last Of Us Part 3, I hear about it all the time. All I can say is that we're already into our next project, the decision has already been made. I can't say what it is, but that is the process we went through.
Previously, Druckmann said in an interview with Hollywood Reporter that "there's more story to tell". In a different interview, this time with Buzzfeed, he talked about Part 3 again. This time he stayed even more vague, saying that "it’s up to us whether we want to continue or not."
However, with a story idea not clearly formulated and other projects also in the works, we shouldn't expect the whole team to rush straight into the sequel. Obviously, Naughty Dog wants to give the game a little room to breathe. But The Last of Us 3 is a possibility for the future. Here's our take on what that could look like.
- Haven't played the fantastic remake for the first game yet? Get it here on Amazon for PS5!
Other Projects From Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog is a very busy studio, working on multiple projects at the same time. Here is a short overview of everything they are working on what they have been busy with recently:
- The Last of Us Standalone Multiplayer: The planned multiplayer for The Last of Us 2 will now be an independent successor to the Factions-mode from the first part. Naughty Dog has now confirmed this, but have only showed concept art so far. Everything else is just rumors: Factions 2 will supposedly be free-to-play and financed via microtransactions, but this hasn't been confirmed yet. The studio also wants to bring their expertise in storytelling into the multiplayer project, so we're excited to see what that will look like. Maybe that's where the scanvenger crew will show up
- Fantasy Game: One of the most persistent rumors regarding Naughty Dog is, that the studio is working on a Fantasy-themed game. According to fans, this fantasy game was teased in the TLOU Part 1 remake. But again, this has just been rumors and leaks so far. Therefore, enjoy this with a healthy pinch of salt.
That was a lot to think about. The PC port of The Last of Us was a no-brainer, though.
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