The Last of Us Part III Release Might Be Closer Than We Think

For a while now, fans of The Last of Us have been wondering whether we will be getting a third game in the series or not. Neil Druckmann has hinted several times that Part II might be the final chapter. But many of us suspected that he wasn't being completely honest. After all, he said the same thing after the first game, even when Part II was already in development.

However, it turns out the suspicions were right. The Last of Us Part III is happening, and it is much further along in development than we were expecting. Not only has casting already started, but some scenes are reportedly being filmed. That means there is already a finished script, and the game is in active development.

This information comes from a GameRant report linking information from industry insider Daniel RPK. Though he mainly talks about the film industry, he is also a well-known leaker who provides accurate video game scooping. His sources claim that casting is in progress, and filming for some scenes has started. He also mentioned that part of the game's plot would center on a new group of survivors living in an old Victorian house holding out against the infection.

Two characters, Val and Mason, apparently take part in a power struggle that points to being important to the plot's development. Along with Val and Mason, the leak mentions other new characters, including Garcia, Ezra, and Lucas. Lucas is supposedly developing a relationship with another character, which eventually takes a dark turn. However, beyond that, story details are scarce. Furthermore, the leak doesn't include Ellie or Abby. This has left fans thinking that the story will focus mostly on new characters or whether Ellie and Abby will show up.

The question arises: Why would Neil Druckman try to make their audience believe that it wasn't happening? Initially, the show has become quite popular, which is why they probably wanted their viewers to remain focused on the second season, which is upcoming. Secondly, Naughty Dog is focused on developing Intergalactic, and the leaked information on Last of Us Part III would completely divert the focus on it instead of the new project. Ultimately, the studio may not have wanted to announce the game too soon as it takes years to develop video games.

If they had revealed The Last of Us III, fans would have to wait a long period without any updates. This also brings up what Troy Baker had said recently. He mentioned that he had filmed something with Neil Druckmann for an upcoming project. Many believed it was for Intergalactic, but he never confirmed that. Could it be for The Last of Us Part III instead? Along with this, if the game is already casting actors and filming scenes, it means development has been going on for quite some time.

Naughty Dog is a large studio that has worked on multiple projects at the same time in the past. For instance, they released Uncharted 2, 3, and 4, The Last of Us, and The Last of Us Part II within a relatively short period. Given that The Last of Us Part II came out five years ago, it makes sense that the development of Part III would have started some years back. Intergalactic is still in development, and The Last of Us Factions multiplayer game was canceled; Naughty Dog most certainly had to continue on The Last of Us Part III in secret for the PlayStation 6 launch.

Many fans believe the game might be released in two to three years, maybe at the same time as the TV series The Last of Us Part II is ending. This would allow the program and the game to acknowledge one another and help the series survive for years to come. Of course, nothing has been formally confirmed yet, and there is always a chance that plans may shift. If the reports are true, though, we are far closer to The Last of Us Part III than we expected.