Naughty Dog's The Last of Us franchise has been an immense success for PlayStation since it first hit the scene in 2013. Serving as a swan song for the PS3 era, the series has since blossomed into a colossal multimedia beast, receiving a dedicated sequel, comic books, and even an HBO TV show starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. Although years off, a third installment is sure to be on the studio's radar at some point in the near future.
A large part of the series' popularity stems from the excellent writing found in both the storyline and characters. The heart of The Last of Us thus far has been the dynamic between the protagonists Joel and Ellie. The first game explored their circumstantial father and daughter bond, while the second examined how the two tried to reconcile a splintered connection. While these characters are widely beloved, it may be in Naughty Dog's best interests to branch out to a new set of characters in the next game.
What's Left to Explore from Joel and Ellie?
Although Naughty Dog contains some of the most talented narrative writers in the business, the question remains what can truly be done to further expand upon Joel and Ellie's relationship in a potential third game. The Last of Us already perfectly demonstrated the love the two grew to have for one another during their cross-country trek through a devastated United States. The Last of Us 2 on the other hand completely shattered the pair and left them on a bittersweet note by the story's conclusion.
Adding to this is the fact that Joel dies during The Last of Us 2, so with the character not even alive in the game's canon, it's even more challenging to come up with new material. While there is the option of diving into flashbacks between Joel and Ellie to help propel the story into action, this runs the risk of feeling like a retread of how The Last of Us 2 constructed its own narrative. The safe bet may be to move on entirely from Joel and Ellie in a future game and focus on a new core cast of characters.
The Last of Us 3 Needs a New Cast of Characters
The Last of Us 2 already showed that Naughty Dog is eager to introduce a ton of new characters into the mix to help keep the story fresh. With Joel and Ellie's story seeming to reach its dramatic peak in that game, The Last of Us 3's theme may be different in order to further shake things up. This is not to say that Ellie can't be present in some way, as she is integral to the soul of the series, but shifting focus to a new group would be beneficial to explore new creative possibilities.
After all, it would be interesting to see how others have dealt with the viral outbreak and downfall of society. The Last of Us 2 set up Abby and Lev finding the Fireflies, so perhaps that is the focus of the next game. Or maybe Naughty Dog rewinds the clocks back to outbreak day as we see how life unfolded for an entirely different group from the beginning all the way to the present.
This wouldn't be the first time a major video game franchise like The Last of Us changed gears with its protagonists, either. PlayStation's own inFamous franchise did the exact same thing, with the first two installments starring Cole McGrath while the third entry featured Delsin Rowe as the main character instead. It remains to be seen exactly what Naughty Dog has planned for the future, but considering the past ambitions of the studio, the end result should be nothing less than hugely compelling.