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

Amid 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 cover the second game in Seasons 2 and 3. Recently, series creator Neil Druckmann hinted at the possibility that *The Last of Us 3* might 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*, will Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the TV show beyond the games? In an interview with IGN at the premiere of *The Last of Us* Season 2, Druckmann shared his thoughts. He emphasized the importance of having a definitive ending, a principle he's applied consistently throughout his career. "I have to have an ending," Druckmann 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."

Druckmann also expressed uncertainty about his future involvement in the franchise, given his commitments to the TV show and the newly announced PlayStation game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. "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," he said. "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 question of whether Druckmann will have the time to develop *The Last of Us 3* remains open, especially with his hands full with the TV show and *Intergalactic*. "As far as everything else, and you’re asking me about future games, my time so much is, we have to finish this season," Druckmann noted. "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 offered a glimmer of hope for fans by teasing a "concept" for a potential *The Last of Us 3* at the end of *Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2*. He stated, "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 further elaborated on the creative freedom at Naughty Dog, saying, "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."