The Last of Us 3 could be "the next thing" for Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann says

The Last of Us 3 has been teased as a possibility by Neil Druckmann.

While fans wait just a few more weeks to play The Last of Us 2, the next chapter of Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic story, director Neil Druckmann is teasing that another sequel may be on the cards in an interview with British GQ. However, he also said the studio could also make something else.

The creative director of Naughty Dog's latest said: "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 said. “So, yeah, the next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP.”

In other words, you shouldn't expect Naughty Dog to immediately commence work on The Last of Us 3 - but the door has been left open for this not to be the final game in the series. For many blockbuster games, making at least a trilogy would seem like a foregone conclusion. With the way the first game ended and all of the twists and turns we've heard teased for the second, though, we really couldn't be sure.

In the meantime, Druckmann is also working on the The Last of Us HBO series, which he has previously called "an interesting challenge" for re-telling the story in a non-interactive format. Even if you can't control the actors on screen (I know I'd spend all my time yelling at them to pick up loose bottles and every pair of scissors they find), the medium has its own perks.

“It really lets us focus on the characters and the drama and show you other aspects of those characters,” Druckmann said.

Our final The Last of Us 2 preview gave us one last look at its harrowing yet beautiful world before release.