With The Last of Us 2 releasing in just over a week, it seems fans are more excited than ever to finally experience the next chapter of Naughty Dog’s exceptional apocalyptic adventure. The last game left off on something of an emotionally charged cliff hanger, with fans waiting a whopping seven years to find out where Ellie and Joel’s story would lead to next.
However, it appears this might not the final chapter of the story, with Neil Druckmann - director of both The Last of Us 2 and its critically acclaimed predecessor - hinting that the team could be back to work on the franchise much quicker than last time. Speaking to GQ, the acclaimed director was asked what was next for Naughty Dog, with Druckmann admitting that he definitely has some ideas in mind for the future.
“As you start wrapping things up, creatively there are fewer and fewer responsibilities and my mind can’t help but think about the next thing,” Druckmann claims, discussing how when the stress of shipping a game is over, his mind immediately turns to his next project. “So, yeah, the next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP,” he casually reveals, leading many to speculate that a sequel to The Last of Us 2 is already on the table. Naturally, many already assumed the series would stretch into a trilogy, especially as the story of The Last of Us feels so rife with interesting narrative potential and explorable characters.
Whether or not Druckmann and the team do decide to return to that world or not remains to be seen, however, there would definitely be merit in Naughty Dog continuing the story just a little bit further. Ellie and Joel’s story is obviously one that players have really got behind and a final act for the pair would feel fitting considering the franchise has quickly become one of the biggest in gaming. Alternatively, it would also be nice to see Naughty Dog spread out its creative wings and try its hand a brand new franchise, especially as it was the team’s willingness to try something new that led to the release of the Last of Us previously.
Until then, Druckmann will likely be hard at work on The Last of Us HBO TV series. Working with Craig Mazen, the show will be a major undertaking that will draw millions of eyes, easily standing as one of the biggest live-action adaptations of a video game to date, with many waiting anxiously to see how it pans out.
The Last of Us 2 will be available on June 19 for PlayStation 4.
Source: GQ
