'The Last of Us Part 3' concept confirmed by Neil Druckmann (2024)

At long last, the news The Last of Us fans have been waiting for has arrived.

Neil Druckmann, a co-creator and writer behind the beloved award-winning gaming franchise that has spawned the now-Emmy-winning HBO series, confirmed he has developed a "concept" for a third entry.

Druckmann dropped the bomb in the final moments of Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II, the documentary delving behind the creation of the 2020 game, which dropped on YouTube Friday afternoon.

"I've been thinking about it: Is there a concept there? And for now years I haven't been able to find that concept. But recently that's changed," Druckmann said in the documentary. "I don't have a story, but I do have that concept that, to me, is as exciting as 1, as exciting as 2, is its own thing and yet has this through line for all three. So it does feel like there's probably one more chapter to this story."

The Last of Us Part III has long been theorized about, so it's welcome news to fans of the franchise — especially after it was announced the online multiplayer game had been axed. But the confirmation now has larger implications for HBO's The Last of Us.

Season 1, which introduced Pedro Pascal as Joel and Bella Ramsey as Ellie, tackled the events of 2013's The Last of Us. Season 2, set to premiere in 2025, will now begin to adapt the events of 2020's The Last of Us Part II, perhaps over more than one season. Druckmann, who showruns the series with Craig Mazin, remains adamant that the HBO drama will not veer away from the source material. So now that there's more story for the games, that opens up the possibility of more seasons.

The Last of Us game followed Joel (played by Troy Baker), a hardened survivor living in a militarized Boston quarantine zone, years after a fungal plague ravaged the world and transformed the infected into zombie-like monsters. Joel was tasked by a rebel group, known as the Fireflies, with smuggling Ellie (Ashley Johnson), a young girl mysteriously immune to the virus, out of the city to their allies on the outside. The seemingly simple task spirals into a cross-country odyssey for the unlikely duo.

A DLC, titled Left Behind, was released in 2014 as a smaller expansion to the story, focusing on Ellie's relationship with her friend and first love Riley (Yaani King). (Storm Reid played Riley in an episode of HBO's The Last of Us.)

Part II then picked up a few years after those events, which culminated in Joel killing many of the Fireflies in order to save Ellie's life, even though it meant a cure would never be developed. Living in a Jackson, Wyo., community with Joel's brother Tommy (Jeffrey Pierce), a violent event disrupts their peace and sends Ellie on a vengeance mission to track down those responsible.

Druckmann confirms there is a story the makers at gaming studio Naughty Dog have written that takes place after the events of Part II, starring Tommy. But unlike the headlines that came out about that in the press, it's not part of this Part III concept.

"It was always a small story, it was never a full title," he explained in the documentary, noting how conflicting priorities at the time contributed to the shelving of that project. "I still believe one day it'll see the light of day," he added. "I don't know if it'll be a game or a show. TBD."

"The first game had such a clean concept of the unconditional love a parent feels for their child," he continued. "The second one — once we landed on this idea of the pursuit of justice at any cost, justice for the ones you love — it felt like, oh, there's a clean concept here and there's a through line from the first game about love. If we don't ever get to do it again, this is a fine ending point. The last bite of the apple, the story's done. 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 [the developers] feel you are passionate about something else, we will support this other thing. It is a very privileged position to be in."

Watch the full Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II documentary in the video above.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Catherine O'Hara officially joins The Last of Us season 2 in secret role
• The Last of Us casts Kaitlyn Dever as pivotal season 2 character Abby
• The Last of Us showrunner is already preparing for some 'furor' around season 2: 'There usually is'