Neil Druckmann reopens the door to The Last of Us Part 3: “With the right opportunity, I would totally jump at it”
While Naughty Dog is not actively developing The Last of Us Part 3, Druckmann no longer rules it out entirely.
Earlier this year, Neil Druckmann seemed to dismiss the possibility of The Last of Us Part 3, stating in an interview with Variety:
“I guess the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it.”
However, in a more recent discussion, Druckmann softened his stance, acknowledging that the success of both the games and the HBO series makes it hard to justify ending the franchise entirely.
Druckmann’s approach to quality
In the ’Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II’ documentary, Druckmann emphasized his commitment to high-quality storytelling, stating:
“The first game had such a clean concept of like, the unconditional love a parent feels for their child. 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.”
“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.”
That time, the press made a huge fuzz about a third installment coming, which was then denied by him, but he recently reignited the hype in an interview on the Sacred Shapes podcast, where he said:
“If we were ever to come back to it, I want to make sure that it’s a story worthy ofThe Last Of Us, and I love that world, I love these characters. With the right opportunity, the right idea, I would totally jump at it.”
This suggests that while The Last of Us Part 3 is not currently in development, Naughty Dog could revisit the franchise if the right concept emerges.
What’s next for Naughty Dog?
Instead of rushing into a sequel, Naughty Dog is focusing on two major projects:
- Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet – A new sci-fi IP directed by Druckmann.
- An unannounced game – Druckmann is acting as a producer, mentoring the team behind this mystery project.
While details on the second game remain scarce, speculation suggests that Shaun Escayg (Uncharted: The Lost Legacy) and Anthony Newman (The Last of Us Part II) could be leading its development.
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