Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann has provided a new update about the future of The Last of Us. Currently, Druckmann and those within Naughty Dog are hard at work on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which is planned to come to PS5 at some point in the future. Since the game’s announcement back in 2024, many fans of the studio have wondered what its existence means for The Last of Us, specifically when it comes to the potential of The Last of Us Part 3. Now, Druckmann has spoken a bit more about the company’s beloved IP and has confirmed that it’s not done working on the property just yet.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Druckmann talked briefly about the upcoming third season of The Last of Us TV series on HBO. While making clear that both himself and Naughty Dog aren’t creatively involved in any capacity with Season 3, Druckmann stressed that the studio is still the one in charge of the franchise. To that end, Druckmann teased that there are new The Last of Us projects in the pipeline, but didn’t add any context to what they might be.
“Naughty Dog is still the steward of this IP and even though this might be the end of this adaptation, we’re not done with The Last of Us,” Druckmann said. “There’s a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I’m very excited to talk about.”
For Druckmann to allude to future The Last of Us endeavors obviously opens the door for The Last of Us Part 3 once again. In the past, Druckmann has been noncommittal about the potential for a third entry in the series to come about, as he’s said that he always approaches his latest project as though it could be his last. That being said, Druckmann has also previously mentioned having an idea for how the overarching story of The Last of Us could continue, which has made it seem as though it’s only a matter of time until a new entry comes about.
It’s obviously worth stressing, though, that these The Last of Us projects Druckmann is referring to could be something completely different than a video game. Historically, The Last of Us has taken a lot of different forms, whether it be as a comic book, a stage play, or even a horror event at Universal Studios. As a result, there are virtually countless possibilities when it comes to what Druckmann is referencing in this new statement.
In the interim, reports suggest that Naughty Dog and PlayStation are targeting a release for Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet at some point in 2027. Although this launch window has yet to be confirmed, hopefully, we’ll see more of the game at some point in the months ahead.
