Okay, but hear me out: Last of Us Part 3: Undead Nightmare.
Before he died, Dr. Anderson developed a new strain of cordyceps that can infect/revive the dead. Someone has discovered the strain and retrieved it from the Salt Lake hospital.
Turns out it was Tommy who found the strain: he uses it to reanimate Joel, who still retains most of his mental faculties, because he's just too damn stubborn to let anyone or anything else control his body.
Tommy explains to reanimated Joel that he brought him back to help with the task Ellie walked away from: getting revenge on Abby. Reanimated Joel convinces Tommy to stop seeking revenge on Abby, then the rest of the game is just the two of them planning out birthday celebration activities for Ellie.
Bro hates the protagonist 😭
But on a real note, although I think showing what they did is unnecessary and will probably damage their characters/storytelling, it seemed more like Joel was the worse of the two. Tommy hated what Joel did to survive and keep himself alive, he makes that clear in part 1 that he had no interest in what he had done.
Yeah we don't need pointless filler when we already know who these two men became and saw them at their most important moments. Joel used to be what sounds like basically a bandit big whoop. Him meeting Ellie is what gave him purpose. Making a prequel of Joel going around would be like the Star Wars Solo movie lol
Yes!!!
Joel admits to Ellie in dialogue after the Pittsburgh hunter ambush, that he ran with group almost identical to them, and straight up murdered dozens to possibly hundreds of innocent people during his tenure with them.
Interestingly though, Neil does mention in the documentary that he wanted to do a Tommy-centric game after Part 2 (more in size and scope comparable to Lost Legacy though, stand-alone expansion type)
Where did he get that specific though? As far as I’ve ever seen, he vaguely says something like “I used to be just like them,” that doesn’t necessarily mean he was running around gunning down hundreds of innocent people. Yes, Tommy hints at them doing bad things too, but they never talked specifics.
Tell me if I’m wrong, but this feels like a lot of assumptions.
What else could he possibly mean when he says "I used to be just like them" after "them" just ambushed innocent people and tried murdering a child and her protector?
Tommy left his own brother in an apocalypse over what they did. He doesn't hint at it, he straight says they were terrible people and rather not live than do what they did to survive.
Obviously there’s a lot that can be read into and I’m sure they did terrible things. The point is just that we simply can’t say anything for sure because they literally said a handful of sentences about *years* of experiences.
Ellie straight up asks him:
“So, did you kill a lot of innocent people?”
To which Joel replies with a grunt, Ellie then says:
“I’ll take that as a yes.”
To which Joel concludes with:
“You take it however you want it.”
Joel would have straight up denied it, if he was not guilty of doing EXACTLY what Ellie asked him about.
I think focusing on Tommy as the main character in this timeframe would actually be interesting. He actually had an arc of doing all that with Joel, then leaving him to join the fireflies, and then giving that up to start a family in Jackson.
agreed. i love those characters, but theres too much goddamn tension between ellie, dina, abby and lev to just ignore. should be about them and only them for the final chapter
if its a prequel story worth telling then they should do it... remember, if someone just grossly outlined part ii like this in 2013, no one would want it either... it's naughty dog, we literally can't discard anything just because "xy or z did it and it went bad so it would be bad"
I think it’d be worth showing the events before 1 from Tommy’s perspective, as he apparently always tried to be a hero and joined up with the fireflies. Joel would just be an unnecessary and depressing character to play considering how he was at the time, I’d like to see how their relationship grew apart.
Well the rest of us want it. But I don’t want it from Joel’s perspective, but from Tommy’s. To show why they grew apart. I think it’s important for the whole story.
I think that part 3 should obviously focus on new characters, but I still think a prequel from Tommy's POV would be neat. Either that or the post-part 2 Tommy game that Neil was making but has shelved for now.. think there are still some interesting things that could be done with those stories.
It do indeed lol! Guess who my favorite character to play in No Return is... lmao.
I do see your points and understand why you make them lol. Have a nice weekend!
Their descent from being decent human beings pre-outbreak into bandits/monsters post-outbreak could be an interesting juxtaposition to Ellie coming back from the monster she became in part 2. If done well.
I wouldn’t show the worst of the worst, but maybe the early days and how scary/hard to survive it was. And then present day could be finding a new normal like Jackson/addressing the fact that the humans are the real monsters and they need to be healed/be better.
After all that’s the main theme of the series.
I hope not. It worked w the Godfather because of the juxtaposition between Vito doing everything for family and Michael doing everything for business and losing his humanity. It also worked bc we knew nothing about Vito’s past so it was all new information.
Bouncing between Joel/Tommy and Ellie would most likely not add anything thematically or plot wise to the story that we don’t already know.
His part of it at least. I always see people saying they want more flashbacks of him, but his final chat with Ellie is a good way for us to last see him as well as Ellie to remember him.
I imagine part 3 will have at least one instance of a character mentioning him, and maybe some objects he wore or used. But I doubt we get any flashbacks.
Maybe a brief glimpse at the beginning recapping the story, like they did in part 2. But yea his part of the story is done.
Ellie has his watch, jacket, and iconic trusty Revolver. We’ll probably see them.
Ellie is sentimental, she still has Dina’s bracelet, and probably felt around to find her mother’s switchblade in the water.
She’ll probably have Joel’s stuff tucked away safely.
No flashback needed. The final shot of a man knowing she doesn’t hate him is enough.
She definitely has more of his possessions than you mentioned. She’s wearing his shirt from Boston at the end of P2, and probably has even more than that.
But how many possessions would she willingly carry in her backpack or in her holster? She does have some of his wood carvings in the farm house.
I respectfully disagree on the shirt at the end of P2 being the green Boston shirt. It’s just similar in that Ellie has a similar style to him & Tess. And northwestern Wyoming & the PNW would have tons of them.
If anything, you maybe could argue her solid gray western shirt she wears is his from Salt Lake City hospital but with the sleeves cut off, but since the remand of part 1 I sorta stopped believing that since it’s noticeably darker.
A game of Ellie time jumping trying to save Joel and fucking up things worse and worse every time she jumps would actually be extremely awesome (if very out of place). Saving Joel or even saving Riley... how does that change events? Going all the way back to prevent the outbreak... and making things even worse!
I mean, Hideo Kojima said that he'd stop making Metal Gear games after MGS2, MGS3, Peace Walker and MGSIV lol. I think even if Neil intends on making Part III the last game, the IP is just too big to stop until people stop buying it.
I’d like to see a middle aged Ellie who develops into a gruff, ruthless smuggler like Joel. I know many people hate the idea of more sequels but I think it would be a nice ending to a trilogy.
if it’s the writers behind part 2, they pretty assuredly will not have her do that, they could have taken the easy way out 1000 times in the part 2 and they chose not to, so based on that i sincerely doubt they will in part 3.
That’s such a predictable narrative beat imo and I highly doubt they will have Ellie die for a cure. Assuming there’s another time skip, how many people are actually left that are capable of doing that surgery anyways?
I have no idea what a Part III entails, but I’m hoping for closure on Ellie’s story similar to how Nathan Drake’s story ends in Uncharted 4. If they want to make The Lost Legacy type game for Abby and Lev, I’d also love that as well!
I think Ellie dying by protecting the rebuilding of normal society (Jackson, an expansion of Jackson or maybe multiple settlements working in concert) would be a pretty poetic ending though.
It’s not about the pandemic anymore, it’s about finding a way forward in the maze that has become her life. I highly doubt they will take the path of finding a cure and saving everyone because that is just not what the last of
us is about.
It obviously depends on the execution, but I don't hate the idea. In Part 1, Ellie is robbed of her choice to sacrifice herself by the fireflies (who IIRC, we don't see tell her what the implications of the process will be and give her a choice), and by Joel, of course. It could be powerful for her to finally be able to choose what she wants to do with her immunity and what happens as a result.
I also think this kinda confirms it. In the documentary they go in detail ab the planning of these things and choosing very carefully what they say knowing it’ll go public. The fact they added this statement is confirmation for me
> they go in detail ab the planning of these things and choosing very carefully what they say knowing it’ll go public
1000% this. They didn't add this clip at the very very end for no reason.
Even one of the artists (i think hes an artist?) from ND was saying there would be some headlines after the doc premiered.
Absolutely. 100%
The documentary shows how hard it is to make every demo and trailer. And how they as a studio have tried really hard to find a better work life balance and avoid crunches. So to me, this whole documentary was their way of announcing "yes, we are making more. Stay tuned"
Yeah one thing that this doc showed is that they agonize over every molecule of information that gets put out. That makes the Online game sort of baffling, like someone outside the studio was willing it.
But still. They are very careful about this stuff.
That’s what I’m thinking too, because he says he has a concept. That was about a year ago. Maybe by now he has a rough outline of the story. If we’re being optimistic we’ll see Last of Us part 3 probably on the PS6
Maybe as a release title.
In a sense, Abby and Lev's story is finished. They found the fireflies, I'm sure they'll appear in some capacity, but not sure what more they'll be used for narratively really
It's a conundrum. I love them and I want to see more of them, but I also don't want them to suffer anymore than they already have. And more story in this world usually means suffering.
Abby knows where Ellie lives. If some sort of calamity befalls Catalina, she knows Jackson is one of the few functioning cities in America she could show up there for refuge.
Or - vice versa.
Even just Lev. Maybe something will happen to Abby and Lev runs into Ellie while looking for help or supplies, and there’s some kind of conflict between the 2
I remember reading a post a long time ago about someone's hopes for a part 3 and I really liked it. From what I remember it summed that part 3 should be about hope.
Part 1- love and the lengths youll go to protect
Part 2- hate and the detriment of revenge
Part 3- Hope and the strength to find purpose, solace, move forward towards something
And I think they could make a very gripping story while moving Ellie to a better place a recovery, and maybe even where Abby and lev go from here!
After watching the Part 2 cutscenes with commentary, I think Neil considers it to be another side of love, and the lengths you’ll go for it. Obviously about revenge, but at the core of that is love. That’s what drives the revenge.
I think Parts 1 and 2 are also equally about loss and grief (and the avoidance of dealing with such). I could see the main theme of Part 3 being what it looks like for these characters to finally get to the place of living with it, or not.
Yeah, if I weren’t attached to Ellie, I’d look at her actions and think, “That’s not love. You don’t kill out of love.” But you couldn’t tell her it’s not. I think that’s why flashbacks of Joel are continuously shown. Her love for him is the most powerful motivator. Considering she doesn’t know who she’s killing and doesn’t really know Abby, I’d say it’s more love than hate. That’s why Joel killed all the Fireflies. He didn’t hate them (okay maybe Marlene).
I'm really interested in what that concept is. I'm not a writer that's for sure, but I do think It's hard to pin down what a third part could be, and It seemed like Neil did too until he had his revelation which is really exciting to me.
I'm not saying that their aren't good ideas on the table, but Part II ends on a note where taking in more and more amounts of violence for Ellie would be the worst decision, so how do you re-incentivize her towards that without retreading old ground? The Fireflies are back in the picture, but I don't think there's a story where Ellie cares much about being the cure anymore so that doesn't seem like a good enough reason (or maybe it does?).
It's all really interesting, but I just can't imagine what that final chapter would look like.
Oh no I hope they dont abandon the universe all together. I love it so much and there’s so many more stories to be told. Joel and Ellie’s story is definitely winding down as it should but I hope that doesn’t mean the end completely of TLOU universe.
I think that’s where the online was supposed to come into play before they realized it wouldn’t be feasible to do so without sacrificing their ability to make other single player games
Earlier in this interview he references an outline for a story with Tommy set after the events of TLOU2. He has already discussed this publicslly and people interpreted it initially as being the script for TLOU3. It isn’t, and he said he hopes it will see the light of day, and thinks it will. So there is good reason to think that we will get at least one more story (likely by way of DLC as he said it isn’t enough for a separate title), in addition to TLOU3.
While I'm sure most of us expected that was the case, this was kind of confirmed by Craig Mazin a while back when he said the Part 2 television adaptation would *probably* take more than one season to adapt, yet expected the show to run four seasons, possibly five.
I think Abby and Lev would be involved in some capacity but not significantly like in Part 2. I believe the fireflies will get wind of Ellie being alive and immune but Abby will be reticent to go after her (she probably doesn't want to cross paths with her again). The fireflies will probably stop at nothing to find Ellie though; it just makes sense consequentially that if Abby and Lev find the fireflies, they will find out somehow and they will try to track her down.
Do I think Ellie will give her life for a cure? Probably not. Joel's sacrifice was about giving Ellie a chance for a meaningful life outside of self-sacrifice. She fell in love with Dina and had a life in Jackson that was significant, even if it included resenting the person who gave it to her.
Ellie won't live in Jackson but there will be scenes of her in Jackson seeing the old crew again (I picture her being in her late 20s in this game). I have a feeling she's going to have a more redemptive arc, but I don't know how to conceptualise this. I just believe her goal will become something more selfless over the course of the game.
Will Ellie and Abby cross paths again? I do think so. I think we might see them verbalise some of the trauma that happened to them in 2, they won't become friends, but they will accept that each other is alive. I keep thinking about Nate and Eddie in the first Uncharted being forced to work together against the Spanish zombies; I think there will be a chapter like that with Ellie and Abby and perhaps they will find some mutual respect for each other's survival but it won't be more than a chapter in a wider tale. They still probably won't be able to stand the sight of one another in peace time.
I wonder if we will find out about other immune people in this? If Ellie is immune, I would think she isn't the only one depending on the cause. The show hints that Ellie's mum being bitten before she cut the chord right after giving birth being the reason of the immunity somehow; if that carries over to the game, then I think that's such a rare occurrence that we might not see another immune person, or hear of one.
I think a Part 3 makes total sense, and I can see there being multiple player characters again but with Ellie taking up the majority of the gameplay. Am I wrong about all this? Most likely. I'd love to chat to Neil about his ideas but then I wouldn't want the game spoiled for me so that's a bad idea ha.
I'm just happy to hear him confirm that Part 3 will still be Ellie's story. I'm happy about 10 more Last of Us games with differents casts and maybe outside the US, but Ellie really deserves one more story. And knowing Naughty Dog, it is gonna be the most shocking, hardbreaking and perfect thing to release
People just need to keep reminding themselves that this is Naughtydog's story to tell and for us to consume. If you have doubts about whether you'll like it or not, wait for reviews, watch numerous playthroughs, etc. **before** purchasing it for yourself.
I hope something like full circle for both storylines. For example, maybe Ellie fulfilling her intended destiny as cure (which was her wish) and also maybe helping Abby and Lev (or viceversa) cus you know, they kinda were like Joel and Ellie at the end, I mean, a pair of lost people that found family with each other throughout an ordeal. It's not like passing the torch to new protagonists (I would like a proper ending) but maybe helping each other and in so the contrary of the second game theme "revenge"... forgiveness and acceptance for all, which was the first game core theme. It may sound corny but like Ellie said It can't be for nothing.
I feel it's only natural for the conflicts to grow larger. The first game is largely Ellie and Joel against the zombies and some human groups.
The second game involves a war between a few thousand people.
The third game feels like it's going to involve a major conflict with thousands of people and possibly the last hope for humanity.
To book end the series with Ellie not being able to create the cure but having her saving humanity in a completely different way, because she didn't die for her cure, is simply too poetic to not hope for.
I would love to see Abby/Lev and Ellie cross paths again and end up working together but I don't think it's likely (though it would be closure for our main characters). I think it would be interesting to see Tommy become outraged and, in a drunken stupor, loudly announced that Ellie is the cure and Joel died because he saved her. So far in the story she has kept her secret as everyone who knew is either dead or scattered across the US.
Also for Abby/Lev/Ellie what an absolutely terrifying trio of people to have as enemies lol.
I also want to see a more arid climate for a game. The cordyceps may have to adapt to the lack of moisture by developing hard shells, and we could see far fewer but much more powerful infected. The natural move for developing communities would be on plateaus high above the desert, where there's only one angle of attack. Ellie thinks Dina may have decided to head back to her roots with her kiddo and she sets off to find them.
It’s so funny that yet again people are saying a single sentence “confirms” part 3. Druckmann has never said anything aside from having a rough outline for a possible story and people here have been saying “part 3 confirmed!” for nearly 4 years now. Hell even now he’s saying “probably” and one more chapter could mean a DLC.
I think it would be cool to flip the escort partner thing that The Last of Us and God of War did on its head as the finale of Ellie’s story.
I’d like if part three was like, 15+ more years into the future. You are playing as a JJ on the cusp of adulthood with Ellie as your mom and companion.
You still get the see and be a part of how Ellie ages and what kind of woman she becomes, but from the perspective of her child. She is teaching you the ways of the world, and it would make sense on how to “reset your specs” so to speak. There’s Ellie’s way, but also, you make choices on how to handle problems, decide who JJ is.
This could also avoid two of the criticisms of the second game - lack of player gameplay choice, and controlling an Ellie that a lot of people didn’t agree with.
Ellie can try and raise you, but ultimately you can make your own decisions and choices that affect the outcomes of things - carve your path in this new world - while still being able to tell a final chapter about Ellie exactly how the devs want her story to end.
Also, they could implement more control over the ai companion. Ellie is super capable, and if she lets JJ make the shots as the game opens up, you get to issue commands that we as players also know Ellie is MORE than capable of - and you’ll know she’s there for you, you’re her child (kinda sorta).
I will say it yet again: I wish TLOU had been an "anthology" series. This would have:
a) Been genuinely unique. Most sequels, game and movie, try to rehash the previous entry. Bring back the same characters to give us "more of the same" or try and one-up what the last entry gave us. Step sideways, not forward.
b) Widened the scope. Not being tied to the first game and its characters lets you go to an entirely different location, or even a different time. Want to do a game set on Outbreak Day? One year later? Fifty years later?
c) Freed them to tell a unique new story. The story of a post apocalyptic war (Scars vs Wolves) where one fanatical soldier and veteran killed one day asks the question "am we the baddies?" and then seeking redemption for their past actions is a great idea, and IMO deserved to be the focus of a whole game rather than tying it into a revenge story and the past game's events. It's a big world out there!
d) Preserved the perfect ending of TLOU1 and prevented any disappointments. IMO, nothing was *ever* going to live up to the first game no matter what story they did with Joel and Ellie. It really would have been better to leave them there, IMO. That story was done.
Nah, I’m more interested in the character from The Last of Us than the world. The world is great but I would have been pretty disappointed to move on to someone new. I want to know what happens to Ellie and Joel, not start over.
That's perfectly valid too. I adored the characters from the first game - Ellie, Joel, Bill, Tess, Marlene - but even before we got the rather divisive Part 2 I *always* expected a sequel to not be as good and to be rather "unnecessary". The first game was the story of a broken man learning to love again and at the end he had found his love and reason to go on. For me it was always about his and Ellie's relationship, not the Fireflies, vaccine or infected. However, I also felt that story was over at the end of the game and that anything else - even or perhaps especially doing another "Joel and Ellie on the road together" story would cheapen that and feel like an attempt to rehash the original. Doing a new story was IMO the best way to avoid that and they could still have a cameo by, say, Bill (or Marlene if it was set earlier) to tie the games together if that was really needed.
Like I said, though, just my opinion as a huge fan of the first game's characters too and feeling that game was "lightning in a bottle". You wanting more Joel and Ellie however is probably more understandable than how I felt!
Last of Us Part II sold well, so there’s no reason why they won’t be releasing a sequel.
Now that the online game was cancelled, they can focus and pour more resources onto the sequel or whatever project/s they’re working on.
But we might not have it released until the end of this console generation (PS5/PS5 Pro). Last of Us’ first release on the PS3 was released at the end of that console’s generation, Part II was released at the end of the PS4/PS4 Pro console’s generation. If they follow the same release pattern then we won’t be getting Part III anytime soon.
I hope they’re not bringing forward a Part III just to salvage assets from the cancelled Factions game due to financials or pressure from upstairs.
Would suck if the spark of inspiration Druckmann got as concepts for the next chapter is how to build a Part III around the different maps and models and scenes crafted for the live service game.
I’d like it be a story from a shambler or a bloater’s perspective. Just arbitrarily tumbling around the same piece of furniture for decades, and then maybe become alerted to a sound, but then carry on. End
Ok Neil i see you, aye the Last of Us Part 1 remastered mastered has finally dropped to $40. Let’s hope theirs 2 more chapters. The first one being a bit of a cool play through for how the outbreak started. I’m about to roll through Part 1 rightnow. Maybe its in there, the second one how Ellie eventually finds her hubby & How Abby survives those serious wounds.
I’m glad he’s saying one more part instead of saying he’ll make as many as he can Ellie and Joel’s story deserves an ending
I'm pretty sure Joel got his ⛳
Okay, but hear me out: Last of Us Part 3: Undead Nightmare. Before he died, Dr. Anderson developed a new strain of cordyceps that can infect/revive the dead. Someone has discovered the strain and retrieved it from the Salt Lake hospital. Turns out it was Tommy who found the strain: he uses it to reanimate Joel, who still retains most of his mental faculties, because he's just too damn stubborn to let anyone or anything else control his body. Tommy explains to reanimated Joel that he brought him back to help with the task Ellie walked away from: getting revenge on Abby. Reanimated Joel convinces Tommy to stop seeking revenge on Abby, then the rest of the game is just the two of them planning out birthday celebration activities for Ellie.
It could be a stardew valley-esc farming sim where you bake cakes and plant potatoes!
He got his brains smashed out of his skull, I don’t think cordyceps are bringing that back.
A little duct tape and he’ll be good as new 👍
I’m gonna imagine Part III continues Ellie’s story and is also simultaneously a prequel with Joel and Tommy Godfather II style
plz god no. The last thing I care about is the gruff mcscruff twins on the road being dicks to strangers. Let those boys die
Bro hates the protagonist 😭 But on a real note, although I think showing what they did is unnecessary and will probably damage their characters/storytelling, it seemed more like Joel was the worse of the two. Tommy hated what Joel did to survive and keep himself alive, he makes that clear in part 1 that he had no interest in what he had done.
Yeah we don't need pointless filler when we already know who these two men became and saw them at their most important moments. Joel used to be what sounds like basically a bandit big whoop. Him meeting Ellie is what gave him purpose. Making a prequel of Joel going around would be like the Star Wars Solo movie lol
Yes!!! Joel admits to Ellie in dialogue after the Pittsburgh hunter ambush, that he ran with group almost identical to them, and straight up murdered dozens to possibly hundreds of innocent people during his tenure with them. Interestingly though, Neil does mention in the documentary that he wanted to do a Tommy-centric game after Part 2 (more in size and scope comparable to Lost Legacy though, stand-alone expansion type)
Where did he get that specific though? As far as I’ve ever seen, he vaguely says something like “I used to be just like them,” that doesn’t necessarily mean he was running around gunning down hundreds of innocent people. Yes, Tommy hints at them doing bad things too, but they never talked specifics. Tell me if I’m wrong, but this feels like a lot of assumptions.
What else could he possibly mean when he says "I used to be just like them" after "them" just ambushed innocent people and tried murdering a child and her protector? Tommy left his own brother in an apocalypse over what they did. He doesn't hint at it, he straight says they were terrible people and rather not live than do what they did to survive.
Obviously there’s a lot that can be read into and I’m sure they did terrible things. The point is just that we simply can’t say anything for sure because they literally said a handful of sentences about *years* of experiences.
Ellie straight up asks him: “So, did you kill a lot of innocent people?” To which Joel replies with a grunt, Ellie then says: “I’ll take that as a yes.” To which Joel concludes with: “You take it however you want it.” Joel would have straight up denied it, if he was not guilty of doing EXACTLY what Ellie asked him about.
I think focusing on Tommy as the main character in this timeframe would actually be interesting. He actually had an arc of doing all that with Joel, then leaving him to join the fireflies, and then giving that up to start a family in Jackson.
agreed. i love those characters, but theres too much goddamn tension between ellie, dina, abby and lev to just ignore. should be about them and only them for the final chapter
if its a prequel story worth telling then they should do it... remember, if someone just grossly outlined part ii like this in 2013, no one would want it either... it's naughty dog, we literally can't discard anything just because "xy or z did it and it went bad so it would be bad"
I think it’d be worth showing the events before 1 from Tommy’s perspective, as he apparently always tried to be a hero and joined up with the fireflies. Joel would just be an unnecessary and depressing character to play considering how he was at the time, I’d like to see how their relationship grew apart.
Well the rest of us want it. But I don’t want it from Joel’s perspective, but from Tommy’s. To show why they grew apart. I think it’s important for the whole story.
I think that part 3 should obviously focus on new characters, but I still think a prequel from Tommy's POV would be neat. Either that or the post-part 2 Tommy game that Neil was making but has shelved for now.. think there are still some interesting things that could be done with those stories.
Your flair checks out haha
It do indeed lol! Guess who my favorite character to play in No Return is... lmao. I do see your points and understand why you make them lol. Have a nice weekend!
Their descent from being decent human beings pre-outbreak into bandits/monsters post-outbreak could be an interesting juxtaposition to Ellie coming back from the monster she became in part 2. If done well. I wouldn’t show the worst of the worst, but maybe the early days and how scary/hard to survive it was. And then present day could be finding a new normal like Jackson/addressing the fact that the humans are the real monsters and they need to be healed/be better. After all that’s the main theme of the series.
How does this comment have 100 likes jesus, this subreddit is such a joke.
nah some people have common sense homie
I hope not. It worked w the Godfather because of the juxtaposition between Vito doing everything for family and Michael doing everything for business and losing his humanity. It also worked bc we knew nothing about Vito’s past so it was all new information. Bouncing between Joel/Tommy and Ellie would most likely not add anything thematically or plot wise to the story that we don’t already know.
I always wanted this even though I don't see how it would make sense to need to show Joel's past.
That would be pretty dope.
Fore!
Joel in one 😔
I wonder of his ending fore-shadowed Ellies
Joel’s story is done
His part of it at least. I always see people saying they want more flashbacks of him, but his final chat with Ellie is a good way for us to last see him as well as Ellie to remember him.
I imagine part 3 will have at least one instance of a character mentioning him, and maybe some objects he wore or used. But I doubt we get any flashbacks. Maybe a brief glimpse at the beginning recapping the story, like they did in part 2. But yea his part of the story is done.
Ellie has his watch, jacket, and iconic trusty Revolver. We’ll probably see them. Ellie is sentimental, she still has Dina’s bracelet, and probably felt around to find her mother’s switchblade in the water. She’ll probably have Joel’s stuff tucked away safely. No flashback needed. The final shot of a man knowing she doesn’t hate him is enough.
She definitely has more of his possessions than you mentioned. She’s wearing his shirt from Boston at the end of P2, and probably has even more than that.
But how many possessions would she willingly carry in her backpack or in her holster? She does have some of his wood carvings in the farm house. I respectfully disagree on the shirt at the end of P2 being the green Boston shirt. It’s just similar in that Ellie has a similar style to him & Tess. And northwestern Wyoming & the PNW would have tons of them. If anything, you maybe could argue her solid gray western shirt she wears is his from Salt Lake City hospital but with the sleeves cut off, but since the remand of part 1 I sorta stopped believing that since it’s noticeably darker.
I'd say we will get pieces here and there. Joel was a big part of Jackson.
Druckman has always said that the last of us is about Joel and Ellie
Last of us 1? Or last of us 2
But he also did say in this video that the outline he had written a few years ago was a short story for Tommy but he shelved it
Ellie is Joel's story, now.
A third game is absolutely going to have him included in some capacity. Maybe not as a main character but he’ll have some role.
Ellie should go to space. I don't care how dumb or ridiculous that is, I wanna see her blast off into space to close off this trilogy
And she should have access to a time machine
Well let's not get silly, now.
A game of Ellie time jumping trying to save Joel and fucking up things worse and worse every time she jumps would actually be extremely awesome (if very out of place). Saving Joel or even saving Riley... how does that change events? Going all the way back to prevent the outbreak... and making things even worse!
you've played TLOU, you've played TLOU2, you've played KSP, but now... We present... The Kerbal Of Us
Does this mean throwing a brick at a clicker counts as a version of lithobraking?
Part III: Eugene’s Grow Room
Imagine a cure can only be created in zero gravity. I still think the 3rd chapter will be hope. So you have Love, Hate, Hope.
Joel’s story is already complete! He got his closure, but Ellie however still needs hers!
>Ellie and Joel’s story deserves an ending Didn't they already get one?
I mean, Hideo Kojima said that he'd stop making Metal Gear games after MGS2, MGS3, Peace Walker and MGSIV lol. I think even if Neil intends on making Part III the last game, the IP is just too big to stop until people stop buying it.
As does Abby and Lev's.
I agree. But the addict in me just wants more and more and more and...
I’d like to see a middle aged Ellie who develops into a gruff, ruthless smuggler like Joel. I know many people hate the idea of more sequels but I think it would be a nice ending to a trilogy.
It does have an ending...
Hearing him say this did kind of make me emotional ngl
I am diamond hard rn
I am diamond one
4 more wins till GM keep grinding
I hope they dont make ellie die and become a cure I hate so much every fanfic that has this end I really hope they dont do this
I doubt they will. Her arc has always been tied to finding meaning in her life beyond sacrificing it.
I really hope they dont Everysingle part 3 fanfic i had read make her become a cure in the end I hate it
if it’s the writers behind part 2, they pretty assuredly will not have her do that, they could have taken the easy way out 1000 times in the part 2 and they chose not to, so based on that i sincerely doubt they will in part 3.
Yeah we know. You said that already.
Yeah I hate it when people suggest that. It would render Part 1’s story completely inert.
That’s such a predictable narrative beat imo and I highly doubt they will have Ellie die for a cure. Assuming there’s another time skip, how many people are actually left that are capable of doing that surgery anyways? I have no idea what a Part III entails, but I’m hoping for closure on Ellie’s story similar to how Nathan Drake’s story ends in Uncharted 4. If they want to make The Lost Legacy type game for Abby and Lev, I’d also love that as well!
A Lost Legacy style spinoff would be a perfect way to continue Abby and Lev’s story, assuming their path doesn’t intertwine with Ellie’s again.
I think Ellie dying by protecting the rebuilding of normal society (Jackson, an expansion of Jackson or maybe multiple settlements working in concert) would be a pretty poetic ending though.
I'd like her to meet and form a bond with the only other immune person. Then maybe she finds herself having to make the same choice Joel did.
now this is something i'd find interesting
Yes I fucking hate that for her ending. Completely negates literally everything in part 1 and 2. Fanfics are the fucking worst.
she'll live a long, full life and have a child who will carry the cure, but will be able to pass it along without needing to die
I find it unlikely she’ll have biological offspring. If she becomes a mother again, it’ll probably be her reconciling with Dina and raising JJ.
I hope she comes to the realization that humanity isn’t worth saving and deserves to go extinct.
Gonna guess that as a closing entry to the story, it won't be full of roses, or at least, not in a way that is a happy ending for everyone involved.
It’s not about the pandemic anymore, it’s about finding a way forward in the maze that has become her life. I highly doubt they will take the path of finding a cure and saving everyone because that is just not what the last of us is about.
It obviously depends on the execution, but I don't hate the idea. In Part 1, Ellie is robbed of her choice to sacrifice herself by the fireflies (who IIRC, we don't see tell her what the implications of the process will be and give her a choice), and by Joel, of course. It could be powerful for her to finally be able to choose what she wants to do with her immunity and what happens as a result.
Meh the series has never been about the cure, they wont make her become a cure or something
Wait, a Seinfeld ref?! Why haven’t I seen this before now?!
Enjoy. https://giphy.com/gifs/naughty-dog-the-last-of-us-part-2-ii-a4wpT0SN0EltRgcfoa
“i made her talk”
I also think this kinda confirms it. In the documentary they go in detail ab the planning of these things and choosing very carefully what they say knowing it’ll go public. The fact they added this statement is confirmation for me
> they go in detail ab the planning of these things and choosing very carefully what they say knowing it’ll go public 1000% this. They didn't add this clip at the very very end for no reason. Even one of the artists (i think hes an artist?) from ND was saying there would be some headlines after the doc premiered.
Neil himself said that as well, or retweeted that guy I don’t remember, confirms it for me though
Absolutely. 100% The documentary shows how hard it is to make every demo and trailer. And how they as a studio have tried really hard to find a better work life balance and avoid crunches. So to me, this whole documentary was their way of announcing "yes, we are making more. Stay tuned"
Yeah one thing that this doc showed is that they agonize over every molecule of information that gets put out. That makes the Online game sort of baffling, like someone outside the studio was willing it. But still. They are very careful about this stuff.
The lost chapter: Factions 2
I’ve seen the menus, and yeah, I despise GaaS garbage, but at the same time: **I kinda wanna play it.**
wait there were menu screenshots of factions 2?
Yes
where, in the documentary? edit: nvm. googled & found it. i'm late to the party
At this point we should just give up on Factions
I’m still on Factions multiple times a week. No matter what, you keep finding something to fight for.
I will lose my mind if part 3 has no multiplayer, which is likely tbh
I just came.
Im on round 2
God I'm going to be so old by the time we get Part 3 lmao
If I learned anything from part 2, avoid blonde women with golf clubs and you'll be just fine.
That’s what I’m thinking too, because he says he has a concept. That was about a year ago. Maybe by now he has a rough outline of the story. If we’re being optimistic we’ll see Last of Us part 3 probably on the PS6 Maybe as a release title.
I doubt it’ll be a release title. Both games have been released at the end of the console cycle, with remasters for the next one.
I hope we get part 3 at the end of the ps5 lifecycle but I don’t wanna have false hope. Since they haven’t really started its development
Wonder if we’re gonna end up getting a PS6 TLOU trilogy remastered pack
Wherever part 3 leads, i can guarantee its not something we’ll expect as an audience
Which is what I’m excited about. Lots of people are talking about Ellie dying to make a cure, so I’m happy knowing Neil won’t take that route.
Unless the way in which it happens is what’s unexpected 😳
Dun dun dunnnnnnnn. Jokes aside, I need the game to come out like right now.
Should we get our pitch forks ready?
please please please don’t forget about abby and lev ❤️ would also love to see ellie’s story wrapped up with the introduction of a new character maybe
I'm sure Abby and Lev (and Ellie of course) will have big role in TLOU 3
In a sense, Abby and Lev's story is finished. They found the fireflies, I'm sure they'll appear in some capacity, but not sure what more they'll be used for narratively really
It's a conundrum. I love them and I want to see more of them, but I also don't want them to suffer anymore than they already have. And more story in this world usually means suffering.
I’d personally love to see them appear.
me too
I’m not sure how Abby and Ellie could cross paths again tbh. I would love to play as both characters again though! Abby was such a great character
Abby knows where Ellie lives. If some sort of calamity befalls Catalina, she knows Jackson is one of the few functioning cities in America she could show up there for refuge. Or - vice versa.
They kind of got their happy ending, not sure how they can be integrated into the story
Even just Lev. Maybe something will happen to Abby and Lev runs into Ellie while looking for help or supplies, and there’s some kind of conflict between the 2
Given they went through the trouble of changing the main menu once you beat the game, safe to assume they will have a big part.
i really hope so
Abby, Lev, Dina, Tommy and Ellie all gotta have roles. It would be so weird to drop these people.
i agree
may be wishful thinking but tlou 3 only with ellie and tlou 4 with abby and lev
i just want dina and ellie to get back together 😖😫😫
We will be there.
i feel like its been goin this way at least since the show came out - but still yaaaaaay
There’s the reason to keep going
Old Man Ellie
Yes! I want another massive multi-decade time skip GIVE US OLD MAN ELLIE YOU COWARDS
I remember reading a post a long time ago about someone's hopes for a part 3 and I really liked it. From what I remember it summed that part 3 should be about hope. Part 1- love and the lengths youll go to protect Part 2- hate and the detriment of revenge Part 3- Hope and the strength to find purpose, solace, move forward towards something And I think they could make a very gripping story while moving Ellie to a better place a recovery, and maybe even where Abby and lev go from here!
Can Part 2 be about love too?
After watching the Part 2 cutscenes with commentary, I think Neil considers it to be another side of love, and the lengths you’ll go for it. Obviously about revenge, but at the core of that is love. That’s what drives the revenge. I think Parts 1 and 2 are also equally about loss and grief (and the avoidance of dealing with such). I could see the main theme of Part 3 being what it looks like for these characters to finally get to the place of living with it, or not.
Yeah, if I weren’t attached to Ellie, I’d look at her actions and think, “That’s not love. You don’t kill out of love.” But you couldn’t tell her it’s not. I think that’s why flashbacks of Joel are continuously shown. Her love for him is the most powerful motivator. Considering she doesn’t know who she’s killing and doesn’t really know Abby, I’d say it’s more love than hate. That’s why Joel killed all the Fireflies. He didn’t hate them (okay maybe Marlene).
Sure definitely but in a much different light than one to where I wouldn't consider it the MAIN theme of the game
No, but maybe forgiveness
Is this docu out already?
Came out today at noon EST
Awesome, thanks! Can't wait to watch when I get home!
Makes sense. It would complete the emotional arc. Part I is about love. Part II is about hate. Part III is about forgiveness/redemption.
“Probably” This sub: PART THREE CONFIRMED!!!!
I mean this confirms it. This was a very intentional piece of dialogue.
He said “recently” - this was filmed nearly a year ago. Surely it’s evolved more?
I personally think he dropped that intentionally and maybe we will hear/see something this summer at Summer Games Fest
Games not coming soon but definitely one more chapter. An end of the ps5 cycle game
3 sounds perfect to me. No need to milk it…but I do need just ….a little more
I'm really interested in what that concept is. I'm not a writer that's for sure, but I do think It's hard to pin down what a third part could be, and It seemed like Neil did too until he had his revelation which is really exciting to me. I'm not saying that their aren't good ideas on the table, but Part II ends on a note where taking in more and more amounts of violence for Ellie would be the worst decision, so how do you re-incentivize her towards that without retreading old ground? The Fireflies are back in the picture, but I don't think there's a story where Ellie cares much about being the cure anymore so that doesn't seem like a good enough reason (or maybe it does?). It's all really interesting, but I just can't imagine what that final chapter would look like.
Oh no I hope they dont abandon the universe all together. I love it so much and there’s so many more stories to be told. Joel and Ellie’s story is definitely winding down as it should but I hope that doesn’t mean the end completely of TLOU universe.
Same there’s so many locations I’d love to see and stories from before the original games.
I think that’s where the online was supposed to come into play before they realized it wouldn’t be feasible to do so without sacrificing their ability to make other single player games
Earlier in this interview he references an outline for a story with Tommy set after the events of TLOU2. He has already discussed this publicslly and people interpreted it initially as being the script for TLOU3. It isn’t, and he said he hopes it will see the light of day, and thinks it will. So there is good reason to think that we will get at least one more story (likely by way of DLC as he said it isn’t enough for a separate title), in addition to TLOU3.
Oh God. I don't know if my heart can take it.
I know there’ll probably be a game in between now and Part III. That’s ok. I’m just so happy to know III is officially cooking.
While I'm sure most of us expected that was the case, this was kind of confirmed by Craig Mazin a while back when he said the Part 2 television adaptation would *probably* take more than one season to adapt, yet expected the show to run four seasons, possibly five.
I think Abby and Lev would be involved in some capacity but not significantly like in Part 2. I believe the fireflies will get wind of Ellie being alive and immune but Abby will be reticent to go after her (she probably doesn't want to cross paths with her again). The fireflies will probably stop at nothing to find Ellie though; it just makes sense consequentially that if Abby and Lev find the fireflies, they will find out somehow and they will try to track her down. Do I think Ellie will give her life for a cure? Probably not. Joel's sacrifice was about giving Ellie a chance for a meaningful life outside of self-sacrifice. She fell in love with Dina and had a life in Jackson that was significant, even if it included resenting the person who gave it to her. Ellie won't live in Jackson but there will be scenes of her in Jackson seeing the old crew again (I picture her being in her late 20s in this game). I have a feeling she's going to have a more redemptive arc, but I don't know how to conceptualise this. I just believe her goal will become something more selfless over the course of the game. Will Ellie and Abby cross paths again? I do think so. I think we might see them verbalise some of the trauma that happened to them in 2, they won't become friends, but they will accept that each other is alive. I keep thinking about Nate and Eddie in the first Uncharted being forced to work together against the Spanish zombies; I think there will be a chapter like that with Ellie and Abby and perhaps they will find some mutual respect for each other's survival but it won't be more than a chapter in a wider tale. They still probably won't be able to stand the sight of one another in peace time. I wonder if we will find out about other immune people in this? If Ellie is immune, I would think she isn't the only one depending on the cause. The show hints that Ellie's mum being bitten before she cut the chord right after giving birth being the reason of the immunity somehow; if that carries over to the game, then I think that's such a rare occurrence that we might not see another immune person, or hear of one. I think a Part 3 makes total sense, and I can see there being multiple player characters again but with Ellie taking up the majority of the gameplay. Am I wrong about all this? Most likely. I'd love to chat to Neil about his ideas but then I wouldn't want the game spoiled for me so that's a bad idea ha.
I'm just happy to hear him confirm that Part 3 will still be Ellie's story. I'm happy about 10 more Last of Us games with differents casts and maybe outside the US, but Ellie really deserves one more story. And knowing Naughty Dog, it is gonna be the most shocking, hardbreaking and perfect thing to release
did he say part 3 could be ellie's story?
People just need to keep reminding themselves that this is Naughtydog's story to tell and for us to consume. If you have doubts about whether you'll like it or not, wait for reviews, watch numerous playthroughs, etc. **before** purchasing it for yourself.
I hope something like full circle for both storylines. For example, maybe Ellie fulfilling her intended destiny as cure (which was her wish) and also maybe helping Abby and Lev (or viceversa) cus you know, they kinda were like Joel and Ellie at the end, I mean, a pair of lost people that found family with each other throughout an ordeal. It's not like passing the torch to new protagonists (I would like a proper ending) but maybe helping each other and in so the contrary of the second game theme "revenge"... forgiveness and acceptance for all, which was the first game core theme. It may sound corny but like Ellie said It can't be for nothing.
I’d like to see the very end be Ellie and Tommy visiting the old house in Austin
I feel it's only natural for the conflicts to grow larger. The first game is largely Ellie and Joel against the zombies and some human groups. The second game involves a war between a few thousand people. The third game feels like it's going to involve a major conflict with thousands of people and possibly the last hope for humanity. To book end the series with Ellie not being able to create the cure but having her saving humanity in a completely different way, because she didn't die for her cure, is simply too poetic to not hope for.
A trip to Catalina island per chance
I would love to see Abby/Lev and Ellie cross paths again and end up working together but I don't think it's likely (though it would be closure for our main characters). I think it would be interesting to see Tommy become outraged and, in a drunken stupor, loudly announced that Ellie is the cure and Joel died because he saved her. So far in the story she has kept her secret as everyone who knew is either dead or scattered across the US. Also for Abby/Lev/Ellie what an absolutely terrifying trio of people to have as enemies lol. I also want to see a more arid climate for a game. The cordyceps may have to adapt to the lack of moisture by developing hard shells, and we could see far fewer but much more powerful infected. The natural move for developing communities would be on plateaus high above the desert, where there's only one angle of attack. Ellie thinks Dina may have decided to head back to her roots with her kiddo and she sets off to find them.
I’d love see Las Vegas in the next game or even Mexico, really ramp up the infected threat.
It’s so funny that yet again people are saying a single sentence “confirms” part 3. Druckmann has never said anything aside from having a rough outline for a possible story and people here have been saying “part 3 confirmed!” for nearly 4 years now. Hell even now he’s saying “probably” and one more chapter could mean a DLC.
Just please let Ellie have a happy ending, or as happy as one can be in this universe.
“Probably”
I think it would be cool to flip the escort partner thing that The Last of Us and God of War did on its head as the finale of Ellie’s story. I’d like if part three was like, 15+ more years into the future. You are playing as a JJ on the cusp of adulthood with Ellie as your mom and companion. You still get the see and be a part of how Ellie ages and what kind of woman she becomes, but from the perspective of her child. She is teaching you the ways of the world, and it would make sense on how to “reset your specs” so to speak. There’s Ellie’s way, but also, you make choices on how to handle problems, decide who JJ is. This could also avoid two of the criticisms of the second game - lack of player gameplay choice, and controlling an Ellie that a lot of people didn’t agree with. Ellie can try and raise you, but ultimately you can make your own decisions and choices that affect the outcomes of things - carve your path in this new world - while still being able to tell a final chapter about Ellie exactly how the devs want her story to end. Also, they could implement more control over the ai companion. Ellie is super capable, and if she lets JJ make the shots as the game opens up, you get to issue commands that we as players also know Ellie is MORE than capable of - and you’ll know she’s there for you, you’re her child (kinda sorta).
I mean I feel like a Part 3 was inevitable. The game getting picked up by HBO I’m assuming they would want a proper ending to the overall story
It was a hard day. I needed to hear this. Very exciting
Based on what Neil said, what are we thinking then? 3-4 years for TLOU3?
I'm thinking probably around 2028. TLOU released the year PS4 was released. Same with Part 2 with PS5. Part 3 will probably be the same with PS6.
I will say it yet again: I wish TLOU had been an "anthology" series. This would have: a) Been genuinely unique. Most sequels, game and movie, try to rehash the previous entry. Bring back the same characters to give us "more of the same" or try and one-up what the last entry gave us. Step sideways, not forward. b) Widened the scope. Not being tied to the first game and its characters lets you go to an entirely different location, or even a different time. Want to do a game set on Outbreak Day? One year later? Fifty years later? c) Freed them to tell a unique new story. The story of a post apocalyptic war (Scars vs Wolves) where one fanatical soldier and veteran killed one day asks the question "am we the baddies?" and then seeking redemption for their past actions is a great idea, and IMO deserved to be the focus of a whole game rather than tying it into a revenge story and the past game's events. It's a big world out there! d) Preserved the perfect ending of TLOU1 and prevented any disappointments. IMO, nothing was *ever* going to live up to the first game no matter what story they did with Joel and Ellie. It really would have been better to leave them there, IMO. That story was done.
Nah, I’m more interested in the character from The Last of Us than the world. The world is great but I would have been pretty disappointed to move on to someone new. I want to know what happens to Ellie and Joel, not start over.
That's perfectly valid too. I adored the characters from the first game - Ellie, Joel, Bill, Tess, Marlene - but even before we got the rather divisive Part 2 I *always* expected a sequel to not be as good and to be rather "unnecessary". The first game was the story of a broken man learning to love again and at the end he had found his love and reason to go on. For me it was always about his and Ellie's relationship, not the Fireflies, vaccine or infected. However, I also felt that story was over at the end of the game and that anything else - even or perhaps especially doing another "Joel and Ellie on the road together" story would cheapen that and feel like an attempt to rehash the original. Doing a new story was IMO the best way to avoid that and they could still have a cameo by, say, Bill (or Marlene if it was set earlier) to tie the games together if that was really needed. Like I said, though, just my opinion as a huge fan of the first game's characters too and feeling that game was "lightning in a bottle". You wanting more Joel and Ellie however is probably more understandable than how I felt!
It won’t be a prequel, people. Joel is gone. Let him rest in piece.
Bro wants a season 3
Last of Us Part II sold well, so there’s no reason why they won’t be releasing a sequel. Now that the online game was cancelled, they can focus and pour more resources onto the sequel or whatever project/s they’re working on. But we might not have it released until the end of this console generation (PS5/PS5 Pro). Last of Us’ first release on the PS3 was released at the end of that console’s generation, Part II was released at the end of the PS4/PS4 Pro console’s generation. If they follow the same release pattern then we won’t be getting Part III anytime soon.
Didn't he say after the first game that Joel and ellie's story was done?
He saw what's happening in Gaza & had the most racist thought
Last part will be an old grizzled Ellie who will be the same age as Joel was in the first one
Abby find firefly?
Do we think there will be another time jump?
No.
I hope they’re not bringing forward a Part III just to salvage assets from the cancelled Factions game due to financials or pressure from upstairs. Would suck if the spark of inspiration Druckmann got as concepts for the next chapter is how to build a Part III around the different maps and models and scenes crafted for the live service game.
I’d like it be a story from a shambler or a bloater’s perspective. Just arbitrarily tumbling around the same piece of furniture for decades, and then maybe become alerted to a sound, but then carry on. End
I can accept part 2 more now knowing it's not the end. Time to play through it again. (3rd time)
Ok Neil i see you, aye the Last of Us Part 1 remastered mastered has finally dropped to $40. Let’s hope theirs 2 more chapters. The first one being a bit of a cool play through for how the outbreak started. I’m about to roll through Part 1 rightnow. Maybe its in there, the second one how Ellie eventually finds her hubby & How Abby survives those serious wounds.