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

Amid swirling questions about the future of The Last of Us video game series, fans are eagerly anticipating what might come next, especially after HBO's series plans to cover the narrative of the second game in Seasons 2 and 3. Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, the series creator, sparked uncertainty about a third installment, 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 TV show beyond the existing games? When IGN posed this question to Druckmann on the red carpet before the premiere of Season 2, he shared his perspective on storytelling and closure. Druckmann emphasized the importance of having a definitive ending for his stories, regardless of whether a sequel follows. He explained, "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 focus on endings stems from uncertainty about his future projects and time constraints. He's currently deeply involved with the TV adaptation, which will conclude the events of The Last of Us 2 over the next two seasons, and is also working on a new PlayStation game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. He stated, "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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Despite his reservations, Druckmann hinted at a potential concept for The Last of Us 3 during a discussion at the end of Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2 in February 2024. He reflected on the thematic arcs of the previous games, saying, "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 praised the creative freedom at Naughty Dog, noting, "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."