[SPOILERS FOR THE LAST OF US PART II]
Rumors had been flying around recently that The Last of Us Part III is already in development at Naughty Dog, series director Neil Druckmann seems to hint that nothing has been greenlit at all.
Talking to BuzzFeed (via NaughtyDogCentral), Druckmann explained, “… with The Last of Us, it’s up to us whether we want to continue it or not. Our process is the same thing we did when we did Part 2, which is if we can come up with a compelling story that has this universal message and statement about love — just like the first and second game did — then we will tell that story. If we can’t come up with something, we have a very strong ending with Part 2 and that will be the end.”
The ending of Part II actually ended up pretty bleak for Ellie. Even though she had gotten her peaceful life with Dina and their kid, Ellie was still troubled about her loss with Joel’s killer Abby, and she decided to drop everything in order to find her. Long story short, the game ends with Ellie walking back to an empty house with Dina and their kid lost, and two of her fingers gone—so she can’t play the guitar like Joel taught her anymore.
With the overarching theme of the series said to be about love, I don’t think the franchise wants to end with Ellie alone and the world still in a state of disarray. Maybe the third game will finally deal with Ellie facing the consequences of her immunity, bringing everything to full circle.
That’s just my guess, but I’m honestly happier to get something I never expected.
The Last of Us Part III hasn’t been officially announced, but you can check out The Last of Us games now playable on PlayStation.
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