Amid ongoing speculation about the future of *The Last of Us* video game series, fans are eagerly anticipating what lies ahead once the HBO series covers the narrative of the second game in Seasons 2 and 3. Earlier this month, series creator Neil Druckmann sparked uncertainty about the possibility of *The Last of Us 3*, 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."
This raises an intriguing question: If there's no *The Last of Us 3*, will Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the TV show beyond the existing games? In an interview with IGN on the red carpet ahead of *The Last of Us* Season 2 premiere, Druckmann shared his thoughts. He mentioned that while he has an ending in mind for *The Last of Us* story, the uncertainty about making *The Last of Us 3* pushes him to leave nothing unresolved.
"I have to have an ending," Druckmann emphasized. "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’ll ever get to do it again. I need it to be a definitive ending. *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."
The feasibility of Druckmann working on *The Last of Us 3* is also in question due to his busy schedule. He is currently deeply involved in producing *The Last of Us* TV show, which will conclude the events of *The Last of Us 2* across Season 2 and Season 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* during the conclusion of *Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2*. He reflected on the thematic throughline of the series, 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."
He added, "The great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don't have to. 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."
