The Last of Us Part 2 Director's Next Game Could Be Part 3 or a New IP

The Last of Us Part II isn't out yet, but its director and the vice president of Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann, has already been thinking ahead to what the studio might come up with next. There's a chance that the next thing Naughty Dog works on could be a Part III to the series to continue the story of Part II, but there's also a chance it could be a totally new IP. Druckmann discussed that and more within a lengthy GQ piece that took an in-depth look at the development of the sequel to The Last of Us and Naughty Dog.

Speaking to GQ, Druckmann noted that as The Last of Us Part II was wrapping up, he was able to think more about what might come next. What that is hasn't been decided on yet, but there are some ideas there at least.

"As you start wrapping things up, creatively there are fewer and fewer responsibilities and my mind can't help but think about the next thing," Druckmann said. "So, yeah, the next thing could be a Part III, the next thing could be some new IP."

Druckmann has previously entertained the idea of working on another Uncharted game, the series Naughty Dog is also known for that has several more games in its catalog than The Last of Us. The comments above focused more on a The Last of Us Part III versus a new IP though with no mentioning of Uncharted this time.

"You just realise we're not going to top that so we're going to do something different," Druckmann said about the series in a past discussion with Retro Replay. "We're just gonna do this other thing. And then kinda similarly with the sequel is first of all: Do we want to make it? And we're lucky that we have the freedom that Sony gives us where we can choose? We made Uncharted 4 and we haven't made another Uncharted since, maybe one day we will, we'll see."

Druckmann also spoke during the GQ interview about HBO's The Last of Us series that's currently in the works. He said working on the characters for that medium as the writer for the show allows the team to focus on the characters and highlight them in different ways.

"It really lets us focus on the characters and the drama and show you other aspects of those characters," he said.

The Last of Us Part II releases for the PlayStation 4 starting on June 19th.