Rumors began to do the rounds that development was already underway on a third The Last of Us game back in 2023, but co-creator Neil Druckmann debunked the reports soon after.
However, the Naughty Dog co-president did later offer a slightly more positive update.
“I know there’s a bunch of people wondering about The Last of Us Part 3 and whether that will be a thing or not,” Druckmann told Buzzfeed. “All I could say is, at Naughty Dog we’re very, very privileged that our publisher is Sony — which means Sony funds our games, supports us, and we’re owned by Sony."
“Our process is the same thing we did when we did Part 2, which is if we can come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love — just like the first and second game did — then we will tell that story. If we can’t come up with something, we have a very strong ending with Part 2 and that will be the end.”
“Our process is the same thing we did when we did Part 2, which is if we can come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love — just like the first and second game did — then we will tell that story. If we can’t come up with something, we have a very strong ending with Part 2 and that will be the end.”
Now, to mark The Last of Us Day, Druckmann has confirmed that two new projects are moving forward that will "expand the canon" of the previous games.
"We have a couple of very exciting new projects in very early stages – so we can’t say much about them at this point. I will tell you that both projects will expand the canon of The Last of Us beyond Part I and Part II. The world of The Last of Us means a great deal to us, and we wouldn’t return to it unless we had something meaningful to say. We believe these stories are worth telling."
Druckmann stops short of revealing whether one of these projects will be an official "Part III," and there's speculation that a spin-off game featuring the early pre-Ellie adventures of Joel and Tommy might be in the works.
For what it's worth, Daniel Richtman reported that The Last of Us Part III is indeed on the way last year.
According to the scooper, "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."
They are looking to cast these roles:
Val, female, Leader of the group
Ezra, male, wants to take over the house from Val
Mason, male, a former soldier. When Val gets put in charge, Mason must choose between his loyalty to Ezra and the house
Lucas, male, affable, but develops a relationship with another young scavenger and will have a turn that shows his dark side.
Gracie, female 18-25 (no other details on this character)
Part II concluded with Ellie deciding not to allow vengeance to consume her completely by sparing Abby's life and returning home (a couple of fingers short) to find that Dina and baby JJ had left. She picks up her guitar, strums Pearl Jam's "Future Days," and thinks back to the night she made an effort to forgive Joel and attempted to mend their strained relationship.
It's a powerful, haunting final sequence, which, as Druckmann rightly points out, would serve as a fitting end to the story if a third game never happens.