Ellie wouldn’t have previously seemed like a shoo-in protagonist for The Last of Us Part 3 if she had not been the focal point of Part 2, and the fact that Part 2 leaves fans with another tragic cliffhanger basically ensures that her story could be continued again in a future installment. That might not be the case if rumored leaks are to be trusted, but the story could nonetheless circle back to Ellie in an interesting way, even if she doesn’t happen to feature in a protagonist role as she has in the last two entries. Ellie’s immunity may not seem as paramount as it once did, but the character herself is.
It would be fantastic to see other characters have the same screen time as Ellie has had, especially if they are given as much development and challenges. It only makes sense for the franchise to evolve with new characters now—considering how much attention to detail and world-building has been implemented—but wrapping Ellie up into the lives of new characters could give some fans a perspective they felt deprived of in The Last of Us Part 2. Ellie is a fan-favorite character but should be reintroduced as if she was one of any survivors players could meet in the world.
Ellie Should Show Up as an Ordinary Survivor NPC in The Last of Us Part 3
Instead of being playable herself, it would be incredible to have Ellie accompany the player and their new protagonist on their journey. Ellie could appear as a wandering survivor whose path intersects with the player’s, and obviously fans would know who she is when she does suddenly arrive, but having the new protagonist player character learn about them would grant a fresh perspective for her.
Ellie could realistically be left to her lonesome for the foreseeable future based on where she ended up in Part 2, but if Naughty Dog still has any loose threads it wants to connect for her, it could do so with Ellie as an NPC. The third installment featuring Ellie as its sole protagonist would likely be the most popular option for fans, but it wouldn’t be satisfying if Naughty Dog doesn’t have another entire game’s worth of storytelling and character development dedicated to her.
It would make more sense narratively if The Last of Us’ multiplayer spin-off featured a new cast of characters, though Part 3 doing so instead would mean that Naughty Dog might truly be intent on having the series branch out past its beloved mascot characters. It’s also fully possible that Abby and Lev could be the third game’s sole focus, which would be brave of Naughty Dog to go through with seeing how much toxicity came from the supposed fandom about her role in Part 2.
But either way, Ellie returning would need to make logical sense and not simply be a way to tether the game and its new characters to an iconic figure. If Part 3 follows a group of survivors who fans haven’t met before, Ellie appearing and needing to make her case as to why she should be trusted would be intriguing from the perspective of fans who know her already.
Then, new characters could cast their judgment based wholly on what decisions she makes from that point forward without the baggage of everything she has done weighing her down. If Ellie is able to start fresh with new survivors and create a unique identity in The Last of Us, then there may still be a lot left to her character for players to learn in future entries.
The Last of Us Part 3 is rumored to be in early development.
