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

Amid uncertainties about the future of the *The Last of Us* video game series, fans are eagerly speculating on where the story might lead after HBO's adaptation covers the second game in Seasons 2 and 3. Earlier this month, Neil Druckmann, the series' creator, hinted at the potential end of the franchise, 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 narrative through the TV series? During an interview with IGN at the premiere of *The Last of Us* Season 2, Druckmann addressed this, emphasizing his need for a definitive ending. "I have to have an ending," he 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's focus isn't solely on *The Last of Us*. He's also deeply involved in the HBO series, which aims to conclude the events of *The Last of Us 2* over Seasons 2 and 3, and is working on the newly announced PlayStation game, *Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet*. "As far as everything else, and you’re asking me about future games, my time so much is, we have to finish this season," he 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 teased the possibility of a *The Last of Us 3* at the end of *Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2*, mentioning a "concept" for a potential new chapter. "The first game had such a clean concept of like, the unconditional love a parent feels for their child," he reflected. "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 highlighted the freedom Naughty Dog offers its creators, 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."