The Last of Us has been getting more exposure ever since the news of the live series broke out. In an interview with Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann, he expressed that there is more story to tell, which might mean that The Last of Us could become a trilogy.
Looking Into the Possibility
There have been indications in the past that Naughty Dog might just work on a third game. Back in April 2021, Druckmann mentioned that he and co-writer Halley Gross have written an outline for a story, which means that there might already be a plot to work with.
They did say explicitly that they were not making it, but they also said that they hoped to see it in reality someday, as mentioned in IGN. It might explore (spoiler) Ellie's journey in a world where Joel is no longer with her, or how she will find Joel's killer to exact her revenge.
It could be a while, especially since Naughty Dog is busy with other TLOU matters like the PS5 remake for the first part of the game. It's possible that the multiplayer Last of Us Factions game is keeping the developers busy right now.
Around mid-December, ViewerAnon revealed without proof that Druckmann's next game was The Last of Us Part 3, which was after he didn't get the screener link to "The Last of Us" show after ten minutes.
Neil Druckmann addressed this on January 1st of 2023 wishing his followers a happy new year on Twitter, as well as thanking them for their support. He also announced that they had a lot of cool stuff to share next year and to be wary of "insider" information since most of it isn't true.
If there was a third game to be released for the franchise, it might use the plot that Neil Druckmann and co-writer Halley Gross already wrote. They could also create a new plot altogether, but all of that is still unconfirmed at this point.
It might also take a while before it even comes to life. Aside from the fact that there are a lot of TLOU projects in the works or soon to be released, Naughty Dog also took their time launching the sequel to the first game, which was a seven-year gap, according to Radio Times.
In the Meantime
Time passes by fast, and if you don't want to wait around for the possibility of a third The Last of Us game, you can try out the multiplayer game which has already been confirmed and is closer to fruition than an unconfirmed game.
There's also the series that is coming to HBO soon enough. If you've already played the game, then you already know how it will end. However, writers can still add twists and turns so gamers would still be surprised by the outcome of the show.
The game-based series is set to be released on January 5th this year, and the trailer already looks promising. The environment and interactions between the characters appear to be faithful to the game, which is a plus for a lot of viewers.
