Former Naughty Dog Dev Hints at Potential The Last of Us 3 Location

One of the locations in The Last of Us Part 3 could be a settlement of people immune to the Cordyceps brain infection, like Ellie is. That possibility emerges from a recent interview with a former Naughty Dog developer, who revealed that series creator Neil Druckmann had already drafted more lore than was ultimately included in the first two The Last of Us games.

Fans have long debated whether a cure for the Cordyceps fungus is truly as simple as the Fireflies presented it at the end of The Last of Us Part 1. However, what is not up to debate is that Ellie’s immunity to the devastating brain infection is genuine. Neither the first two mainline games nor HBO’s hit television adaptation have so far suggested that any other character in the franchise shares her condition.

Former Naughty Dog Artist Shares Lore Cut From TLOU Games

That long-held assumption may have more cracks in it than previously thought, following a recent episode of the Kiwi Talkz podcast in which Gabriel Betancourt, a former Senior Lighting Artist at Naughty Dog, sat down with host Reece Reilly. Betancourt, who worked at the Santa Monica-based studio from July 2012 to February 2019, recalled that Druckmann once told him there is “a whole congregation” of people immune to all forms of the Cordyceps infection in The Last of Us universe. In other words, a community composed of individuals like Ellie.

Because neither the original game nor its 2020 sequel ever introduced or alluded to such a group, the most straightforward reading of Betancourt’s account is that this mysterious immune settlement remains part of Druckmann’s unpublished lore. As such, it could potentially surface in the long-rumored third The Last of Us game, either as a playable location or a story backdrop. That conclusion is contingent, of course, on the Naughty Dog co-president not having revised or discarded the concept in the years since mentioning it to his colleague in the late 2010s.

Ellie Not Being the Only Immune Person in the World Matches TLOU Lore

The biology of Ellie’s condition lends further plausibility to the idea of more people in Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic universe being immune. As hinted in the first game and outright confirmed in the Season 1 finale of HBO’s TV adaptation, Ellie was exposed to the Cordyceps fungus in the womb. It is implied that this disrupted the infection’s normal progression and resulted in her immunity. If pre-birth exposure is indeed the mechanism behind immunity, it is statistically probable that Ellie is not the only person in the franchise’s world to have experienced it. On that basis, a settlement of people with the same condition would be in line with the series’ internal logic, especially because, like Ellie, any others who were immune would likely need to conceal their mutation.

The Last of Us Part 3 Is Unlikely To Release Before the 2030s

Naughty Dog has not yet officially confirmed plans to make a third entry in its renowned franchise, although Druckmann has personally hinted at The Last of Us 3 several times, both in February 2024 and September 2025. Nevertheless, the studio is currently focused on finishing its sci-fi action adventure Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, rumored to be targeting a mid-2027 launch. As such, even if The Last of Us Part 3 is already in the pipeline, it is likely to release well into the PlayStation 6 generation, sometime during the 2030s.

Systems

Released

January 19, 2024

ESRB

M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs

Publisher(s)

Sony Interactive Entertainment