Neil Druckmann on Continuing 'The Last of Us' TV Show Beyond Games if No 'Part 3'

Amidst swirling uncertainties about the future of The Last of Us video game series, fans are eagerly speculating on where the narrative might venture next, especially with HBO's series set to adapt the events of the second game in its upcoming Seasons 2 and 3. Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, the mastermind behind the series, hinted at a potential end, 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."

With doubts surrounding The Last of Us 3, fans are curious if Naughty Dog and Druckmann would continue the TV show beyond the video games' storylines. During an interview at the premiere of The Last of Us Season 2, IGN asked Druckmann this very question. He revealed that, although he has an envisioned ending for The Last of Us saga, he's unsure about the opportunity to develop a third game. Therefore, he's determined to leave nothing unresolved.

Druckmann emphasized the importance of closure in his projects: "I have to have an ending," he explained. "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 don’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."

He further elaborated on his approach to storytelling, "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, given his commitments to the ongoing TV show, which aims to conclude the events of The Last of Us 2 over its next two seasons, and his involvement in the newly announced PlayStation game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.

Druckmann shared his current focus: "As far as everything else, and you’re asking me about future games, my time so much is, we have to finish this season. 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 teased the possibility of a "concept" for The Last of Us 3 at the end of Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2. He highlighted the thematic continuity between the games, 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."

Druckmann also spoke about the creative freedom at Naughty Dog: "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."