WhileUnchartedconcluded with a couple of white-hot bangs—A Thief’s EndandLost Legacy—during its heyday,The Last of Ushas arguably been Naughty Dog’s crown jewel for the past two decades. It’s endlessly ironic and interesting thatThe Last of Ushas been so revered and beloved with only two installments to its name and, even with it supposedly concluding at some point with a third game, its popularity has never been greater and will probably continue to blossom as seasons of HBO’s show are doled out.The Last of Us’ HBO show adaptedPart 1—however loosely—in Season 1, but as far as what’s known for Season 2 its approach to an adaptation ofPart 2will be nowhere near as simple.
The Last of Us Part 2is definitely a more complicated story to tell thanPart 1due to its multiple and intertwining perspectives, though with HBO reportedly planning on having the show go on for four seasons it seems as if Naughty Dog might be pressed to move forward on aLast of Us Part 3. This would normally be a non-issue—Part 2wouldn’t followThe Last of Usfor a whopping seven years, to be fair—but the scheduling for HBO’s live-action adaptation suggests that a third game may need to bookend the narrative sooner rather than later, especially withIntergalactic: The Heretic Propheton the way.
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet is a Much-Needed Detour for Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog will probably want all attention onIntergalactic: The Heretic Prophetand to have it released long before aLast of Usthreequel now that it has a brand-new, shiny IP revealed.The Last of Usis still its breadwinner, and yet with a slew of remasters and remakes—however necessary or ancillary they may be—and a recently canceled standalone multiplayer game, it’d be terrific to keepThe Last of Usat an arm’s distance until that dust settles andIntergalacticdeserves ample time in the limelight.
Intergalacticisn’t expected any sooner than 2026 seeing as no release window has been provided yet.
So, with absolutely nothing revealed about an upcomingLast of Us Part 3, it is highly unlikely thatThe Last of Uswill precedeIntergalactic. Considering how many years it takes formodern, AAA, first-party studiosto churn blockbuster games out, it wouldn’t be anywhere beyond the realm of possibility to predict that aLast of Us Part 3might not be released until 2030 at the earliest. It will be fascinating, then, to see whenPart 3will launch in relation to its story’s adaptation in the show.
The Last of Us’ HBO Show May Be Stretched Thin by the Time The Last of Us Part 3 Launches
The Last of Us’ HBO showmay not actually end up running for four seasons depending on how much more of the game’s story there is to tell. Still, with such a duration being contemplated and shared publicly at all, there have probably already been conversations about where aPart 3adaptation would sneak its way into the series.
It was previously claimed that two seasons could be considered in order to cover the events ofPart 2and only one season may be reserved forPart 3in that case. Nonetheless, depending on how soon each subsequent season will be filmed and produced, that doesn’t leave quite a lot of time for Naughty Dog to havePart 3developed and released.
It’d be bizarre if Naughty Dog allowed the show to tellPart 3’s story beforePart 3was released, for instance, and it’d be odd if HBO decided not to adaptPart 3. It may be half a decade away or more, but it will be interesting to see how the show and the threequel intersect and how one affects the other in terms ofNaughty Dog’s packed slate.
