The Last of Us Part 3 rumors circle as casting details reportedly leak, and Ellie will be "as important" as before

The Last of us 2 deals prices
(Image credit: Sony/Naughty Dog)

Naughty Dog may be keeping tight-lipped about the future of its groundbreaking post-apocalyptic series, but rumors regarding The Last of Us Part 3 continue to swirl.

The latest comes from DanielRPK (via Eurogamer), and suggests that the third instalment will introduce us to "a group of scavengers surviving on the outskirts of a post-apocalyptic city" in a Victorian house that serves as their base. We've also got details on five members of this group, which, according to the leaker, Naughty Dog is currently "looking to cast."

The first is Lucas, who's said to be an "affable" guy but "develops a relationship with another young scavenger and will have a turn that shows his dark side." Val is the leader of the group, while Ezra wants to muscle in on her position. Then there's Mason, a former soldier who "must choose between his loyalty to Ezra and the house" after Val gets put in charge. Last up is Gracie, and all we know about her is that she's aged 18-25.

Naughty Dog is planning for Ellie to have just as much of a role in the next game as she did in The Last of Us Part 2, according to leaker ViewerAnon, as well as introducing us to new characters.

In a tweet, they wrote: "Look, it's early, story details are tweaked and everything is potentially up in the air to be changed, but I assure you I've heard Ellie is at least as important in LAST OF US PART III as she was in PART II."

In another tweet, they reiterated that a third instalment is currently in the works and mentioned that motion capture will get underway at some point this year. "All I can say is I've been very vocal for quite awhile that THE LAST OF US PART III is in development and others are finally noticing," they said. "Major filming is happening this year."

While the new characters and the power dynamics within their group sound intriguing, and more time with Ellie can only be a good thing, as with any rumor, it's worth taking all of this with a grain of salt until we get official confirmation from Naughty Dog. 

Rumors that The Last of Us Part 3 is "in production" surfaced late last year, and back in January, director Neil Druckmann teased the possibility of a follow-up, saying "I think there's more story to tell."

Check out our guide to upcoming PS5 games for all the biggest and best titles coming to Sony's new-gen console.

Anne-Marie Ostler
Freelance Writer

Originally from Ireland, I moved to the UK in 2014 to pursue a Games Journalism and PR degree at Staffordshire University. Following that, I've freelanced for GamesMaster, Games TM, Official PlayStation Magazine and, more recently, Play and GamesRadar+. My love of gaming sprang from successfully defeating that first Goomba in Super Mario Bros on the NES. These days, PlayStation is my jam. When not gaming or writing, I can usually be found scouring the internet for anything Tomb Raider related to add to my out of control memorabilia collection.

Read more
best zombie games
"Don't bet on there being more of Last of Us": Asked about The Last of Us 3, Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann says "this could be it"
The Last of Us season 2 first look
HBO teases how many seasons The Last of Us will run for – and it's more than we expected
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 release date revealed with new Ellie, Abby, and Joel character posters teasing "every path has a price"
Jordan A. Mun looks at herself in a mirror in just a vest in Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet screenshot
The Last of Us creator Neil Druckmann says Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet will also be about "being lonely," as if his zombie apocalypse wasn’t isolating enough: "I really want you to be lost"
The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 will tell "a different version" of the story, but Neil Druckmann loves the changes they've made: "Its DNA is in there"
Pedro Pascal as Joel in The Last of Us season 2 first look
The Last of Us season 2 release date, cast, plot, trailer, and more news
Latest in Action
Yasuke and Naoe ready to fight on the Assassin's Creed Shadows On The Radar thumbnail
On The Radar: Assassin's Creed Shadows coverage hub
Assassin's Creed Shadows Naoe assassinating target with Tanto skill
Assassin's Creed Shadows' first title update is a hotfix with three lines of patch notes and a download size up to 9GB
Assassin's Creed Shadows Nishinomiya Shrine
All Nishinomiya Shrine locations in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows riddles Naoe answers
All Assassin's Creed Shadows riddle answers for NPC encounters
GTA 6 trailer screenshots showing lucia in an interview room
"GTA 6 is basically a huge meteor, and we will just stay clear of the blast zone": Publishers are in a frenzy over when to release their games to avoid Rockstar
Assassin's Creed Shadows
Assassin's Creed Shadows has been the series' best launch since Valhalla, but that was "a perfect storm we may never see again," says Ubisoft
Latest in News
Lunar Remastered Collection
"Will today’s players still enjoy a game from 30 years ago?": JRPG icon Kei Shigema says he was thrilled to see Lunar getting a remaster even after all this time
Nick Offerman as Bill and Murray Bartlett as Frank in The Last of Us episode 3
The Last of Us season 2 showrunners tease a "gorgeous" episode akin to season 1’s Emmy-nominated Bill and Frank story: "Just you wait"
The Witcher 4 screenshot with Ciri using sword and sorcery to fight an ancient monster
CD Projekt boss says "cutting-edge single-player games" – you know, like The Witcher 4 and Cyberpunk 2 – will "continue to enjoy great popularity" despite industry shifts
Cyberpunk 2077
Despite releasing exactly zero new games, CD Projekt bagged $120 million in profit for 2024 – the Witcher and Cyberpunk studio's third-best result ever
Muse
Daredevil: Born Again midseason trailer teases Matt Murdock’s violent fight with Muse, including a gory scene straight from the comics
Batman looking over the city during Batman: Arkham City, one of the best PS3 games.
The PS2 Batman Begins game was considered such a "disaster" that Christopher Nolan turned down a Dark Knight-inspired game