Neil Druckmann on Continuing 'The Last of Us' TV Show Beyond Games

Amid swirling uncertainties about the future of the *The Last of Us* video game series, fans are eagerly anticipating what might come next following the HBO series' coverage of the second game in Seasons 2 and 3. Earlier this month, series creator Neil Druckmann hinted at the possibility that *The Last of Us 3* may not see the light of day, 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 the question: if there's no *The Last of Us 3*, would Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the narrative through the TV series beyond the existing games? IGN posed this very question to Druckmann at the red carpet premiere of *The Last of Us* Season 2, and his response was telling. Despite the uncertainty around a third game, Druckmann has a clear vision for the ending of *The Last of Us* story. He emphasized his approach to storytelling, noting, "I have to have an ending. 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."

Druckmann's commitment to crafting a complete narrative, regardless of future opportunities, is evident. He stated, "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 dedicating time to *The Last of Us 3* is further complicated by his involvement in the *The Last of Us* TV show, which aims to conclude the events of the second game over Seasons 2 and 3, and his work on the newly announced PlayStation game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. He noted, "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

In February 2024, Druckmann teased the possibility of *The Last of Us 3* at the end of *Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2*, hinting at a "concept" for a potential third game. He explained, "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 highlighted the creative freedom at Naughty Dog, stating, "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."