A former The Last Of Us developer has revealed a scrapped plot point that could inspire the rumoured Part 3 game.
Released in 2013, The Last Of Us takes place in the aftermath of a Cordyceps outbreak that’s wiped out almost all life on Earth. The game sees gruff smuggler Joel tasked with transporting the young, precocious Ellie across North America when it’s revealed she’s immune to the infection. However, he later discovers that a cure can only be made if Ellie is dead. The 2020 sequel The Last Of Us Part Two explored the fallout from their decisions.
Game creator Neil Druckmann has hinted that a third game could be in the works. During a making-of documentary for The Last Of Us Part Two, he revealed that he finally had “concept” for a third game after years of struggling to come up with an exciting idea and teased “one more chapter”.
Druckmann has also said he would “totally jump” at making The Last Of Us Part Three if the story was strong enough. “It’s important to me that everything is high quality. I don’t just want to make a lot of it, I want to be very thoughtful about everything we make.” Back in September, Druckmann teased “more” updates when “the time is right” and last month, he got fans’ hopes up by talking about the “road ahead” for the franchise.
Now former Naughty Dog developer Gabriel Betancourt has revealed a scrapped story idea that could make a return in The Last Of Us Part Three.
Speaking on the Kiwi Talkz podcast, Betancourt said that before The Last Of Us Part Two was released, he had a conversation with Druckmann about other survivors who were immune to the Cordyceps outbreak. “There’s a whole congregation of that kind of person. I want to tell a more sophisticated story,” Druckmann told him (via IGN). “I want to tell a story with multiple characters and expand on that.”
“I felt like the pillar of the story was Ellie being the only person with the cure,” Betancourt explained. “And so protecting her, and making sure she got to where she needs to go to save humanity – because without the cure, life is hopeless – that’s what created the gravity of that world. That was the context that made The Last of Us special.”
Naughty Dog are currently working on new sci-fi IP Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and some fans believe a new Uncharted game is also in the works alongside the rumoured The Last Of Us Part Three.
In other news, the upcoming PlayStation 5 exclusive Saros is one of the best games of 2026 so far according to critics.
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