The Last of Us fans believe creator Neil Druckmann has dropped a notable Part 3 tease.
In a post on Instagram, Druckmann shared some of his first ever sketches for the characters that became Joel and Ellie — and suggested that the story of their world still wasn’t over.
“Cleaning out the garage today and stumbled on my original sketches from 2003 for a game pitch about a man, his surrogate daughter, and a trek across a broken America,” Druckmann wrote. “Been a wild journey,” he continued. “Grateful for every part of it, especially the few stops that remain on the road ahead.”
It’s that last sentence which has now gotten fans excited, with numerous responses on social media and reddit convinced that Druckmann’s “few stops that remain” mean The Last of Us Part 3.
Druckmann has never ruled out making a third chapter of Naughty Dog’s beloved The Last of Us saga, even as the studio is now busy with a couple of other projects. One of these is Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which Druckmann is directing. The other project is a game he has a more hands-off role on, which is being directed by Shaun Escayg, who previously helmed Uncharted: The Lost Legacy.
In the past, Druckmann has spoken of having written a smaller story for side-character Tommy, though specifically stated this was not the basis for a third full The Last of Us game. And then there is HBO’s The Last of Us TV series, which is currently shooting its third (and likely last) season. Druckmann, however, is no longer involved in the day to day running of that.
So, what else could Druckmann be referring to here, if not The Last of Us Part 3? Many fans have seen the comment and suggested it’s a signal the project will happen, eventually — even if it has to wait for the launch of Intergalactic, which itself is not expected for a couple of years.
“That last line pretty much confirms Part 3,” one fan wrote on Instagram. “Few… stops? Few stops? FEW STOPS?!? WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO US,” wrote another.
“It’s obvious that there will be a TLOU3,” added another The Last of Us fan on reddit. “He basically confirmed in the documentary about TLOU2. But it’s probably VERY far away. My guess would be 3035-36, assuming they have another game in the works right after Intergalactic. ‘Few stops’ seems to be more about him as a director. With games taking 5-7+ years of development time, I could see him retiring as a game director in 10-15 years, so basically two projects.”
As that comment mentions, this isn’t the first time Druckmann has hinted that The Last of Us Part 3 will one day become a reality. Naughty Dog’s official Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2 documentary ends with Druckmann essentially confirming as such, with the statement that he feels “there’s one more chapter to this story.” How long it takes for him to get around to making it, however, remains to be seen.
For now, here’s Druckmann’s quote from Naughty Dog’s The Last of Us Part 2 documentary in full:
“If we never get to do it again, this is a fine ending point,” he said. “Last bite of the apple, story’s done. And the great thing about working at Naughty Dog is that we don’t have to. It’s always like ‘we would love another Last of Us, but if you guys feel like you’re passionate about something else we’ll support that.’ [It’s a] very privileged position to be in, I never take that for granted.
“I’ve been thinking about ‘is there a concept there?’ [for a sequel] and for years I haven’t been able to find that concept. But recently that’s changed, and I don’t have a story but I do have that concept that, to me, is exciting as 1, as exciting as 2, is it’s own thing but yet has this throughline for all three. So it does feel like there’s one more chapter to this story.”
Druckmann previously referred to Intergalactic, meanwhile, as the most “ambitious” “expansive” and “expensive” game Naughty Dog has ever made. “What can I say and not say? I can tell you we’re in the thick of it. We’re making it, we’re playing it. We’re firing on all cylinders.” The game lacks any form of a release date, though a report in December last year noted that developers were already working mandatory overtime to get an internal demo done for Sony.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
