Neil Druckmann on Extending 'The Last of Us' TV Series Beyond Games

Amid swirling speculation about the future of *The Last of Us* video game series, fans eagerly await news on where the story might head after the HBO series Seasons 2 and 3, which are set to adapt the events of the second game. Earlier this month, series creator Neil Druckmann threw a curveball by suggesting that *The Last of Us 3* might not come to fruition, 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 statement leaves fans wondering: if there's no *The Last of Us 3*, will Naughty Dog and Druckmann continue the TV series beyond the games? IGN posed this very question to Druckmann during the red carpet event ahead of *The Last of Us* Season 2 premiere. He responded by sharing that, although he has a definitive ending for *The Last of Us* in mind, the uncertainty surrounding *The Last of Us 3* means he's not holding back any story elements.

"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 didn’t know if we’d 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 continued, "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 pressing question remains whether Druckmann will have the time to develop *The Last of Us 3*, given his commitments to the TV series and 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 said. "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, teasing a "concept" for a potential The Last of Us 3 at the end of Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2, suggesting that there might be "probably one more chapter to this story."

"The first game had such a clean concept of like, the unconditional love a parent feels for their child," he elaborated. "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."