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Neil Druckmann Clarifies Comments on The Last Of Us 3

"Every project I work on I treat it like it could be my last."

20 Comments

Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann recently made headlines when he told fans to not bet on the developer making The Last of Us 3. Now, he's clarified those comments, saying "so many stars have to align" for any given project to come to market, so he can't guarantee anything as it relates to future Last of Us projects.

Speaking to CTV's Etalk, Druckmann said, "Every project I work on I treat it like it could be my last. I just pour everything into it and leave nothing on the table."

He added: "When we did the first Last of Us game, that's how I treated it--I wasn't sure I could ever get to make a sequel. It had to have a definitive ending. Likewise when I worked on Uncharted 4--same thing. [Same for] when I worked on The Last of Us 2--I was like, 'I don't know if I'll ever get to do this again.' It had this definitive ending."

The ending in The Last of Us: Part II is what Druckmann is working toward for the overall series, whether it ends with the TV show or another game, he said.

"For there to be another [game], another thing, another project. So many stars have to align, so I can't guarantee it. Right now, my focus is on this season; hopefully if HBO renews us, next season. And then I am working on a new game called Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet. One project at a time," he said.

Intergalactic is reportedly not going to release until 2027 at the soonest, so if The Last of Us 3 or any other one Last of Us game came after it, fans shouldn't expect to play it soon.

The Last of Us Season 2 comes to HBO on Sunday, April 13, and there are seven episodes in total. The season covers some of the events of The Last of Us: Part II, but not all of them. In total, there could be four seasons of the show, HBO has said.

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Ars1Molinar

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I mean ND has the benefit of the doubt but idk if I can stand the protagonist from Intergalactic for an entire game.

What worries me is the Forspoken vibes the trailer is giving me.

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mogan

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mogan  Moderator  Online

@ars1molinar: Since we’ve only seen one trailer for it, I’m willing to give Intergalactic’s protagonist the benefit of the doubt for now. And I like to think other developers will have learned from the reaction to Forspoken. Right now I think Intergalactic could go either way; fun or insufferable.

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watchmenotreact

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It's okay man please don't make any more zionist propaganda you can stop

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raggedyman

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The fartium this guy huffes must be prime quality

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naomha1

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Hey, Neil. Uncharted 5. Just saying. Nathan Drake's last outing with his grown kid. Make him a side kick like Victor Sullivan and it would be aces.

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LucasRezende9

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@naomha1: Drake should always be the main character. But I'm up for a 5th installment. Random cliche idea: have his daughter try to follow in his footsteps in the beginning of the game and be captured. In order to get her back he'll need to get out of retirement and find the treasure for the villain.

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faithxvoid

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Edited By faithxvoid

Man really does like huffing his own farts...

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davidb50100

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Edited By davidb50100

Neil is tantalizingly close to making the same mistake as Bethesda with the next installment of Elder Scrolls. That is, make another space game and delay the project so long a whole generation passes by.

Also, the notion the last game had "a definitive ending" is not quite right.. I mean, nothing was truly resolved.

Also, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet sounds terrible. Sounds so B-rated.. just add an extended title and it fits .. Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet: Resurrection: Part III.

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naomha1

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@davidb50100: Except absolutely NO ONE knows definitively what Intergalactic actually is in the gaming world. The little trailer they dropped shows absolutely NOTHING to make assumptions about. That's all you're doing. Assuming.

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killersushi

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@naomha1: True but the name really is dreadfully bad. We know that much.

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Dipshot

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Yep, no cope going on there whatsoever.

I'm sure the next game will be welcomed with open arms. And I'm sure this second season of the show won't be controversial for what it does and doesn't show. But I will say I can completely guarantee they'll keep that one thing till the next season. There's absolutely no chance they won't do time jumps all over the place to avoid the single thing that would absolutely anger the current audience.

I mean they will do it 100%, it's just going to take them till next season.

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Spartan_418

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@dipshot: What's the "one thing," care to clarify? This is GameSpot, anyone here who cares enough will have played the game already

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davidb50100

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@Spartan_418: The Joel-in-one...

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MonkeyPorn

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@davidb50100: Thats really COLD dude !

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Spartan_418

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@davidb50100: That would make no sense. It looks like most of the season will follow Ellie on her revenge quest, is she gonna do that without showing or talking about her whole motivation behind it?

Joel will get some continued presence via flashbacks but nah, he's gonna die on the first or second episode of s2

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davidb50100

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@Spartan_418': Or the last episode of this season. It happens early in the game but I agree they will string it out for a long time.

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OldDadGamer

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OldDadGamer  Moderator

@davidb50100: I dunno man. Pedro Pascal only worked on the shoot for, like, two or three weeks. He wasn't around much at all. Might be true to the game.

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Spartan_418

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@olddadgamer: Yep. I could see them changing the death scene and the methods involved so that it's not as cruel and it's easier to make Abby sympathetic later, but they're not gonna delay or avoid showing it for that long

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SParent180

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I find this approach refreshing as often people are focused on teasing and hyping the next thing. I assume we will eventually get a Part 3, but I like that Druckman is trying to limit expectations instead of saying something like, "you'll have to wait and see," "you never know," "never say never," etc.

I'd rather be told there's no guarantee of it happening than for it to turn into a Half-life 3 situation where people are constantly questioning and speculating when it's coming.

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ItsNotA2Mer

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Whatever, Neil. 🙄

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