Because Ellie’s tale in The Last of Us Part 2 leaves her on an uncomfortable cliffhanger, it only makes sense to assume that she would return as the protagonist for a Part 3. However, nothing about The Last of Us’ storytelling has been predictable or simple, and the multiplayer spin-off that is supposedly going to release sooner than a Part 3 will certainly be a boon for the franchise if it puts some distance between itself and the iconic mascot characters from the main series. That’s why if The Last of Us’ recent leaks are true, they would be great for the spin-off’s narrative.
The Last of Us Part 3 does deserve to distance itself from Ellie, if for no other reason than for Naughty Dog to prove that the franchise has legs without its mascots. That said, Ellie’s narrative was left in a position where she might not have been given full closure yet, and a third installment could easily pick up where the sequel left her. This would give The Last of Us’ multiplayer game a great opportunity to distance the franchise from Ellie in a spin-off revolving around an entirely new cast of characters much like the one described in the rumored leaks.
The Last of Us’ Multiplayer Spin-Off Needs a Diverse Cast of Survivor Characters
The leak for The Last of Us’ upcoming endeavors claims that there is a new cast of named characters to look forward to: Lucas, Val, Ezra, Mason, and Gracie. Nothing about the leaker’s claims has been confirmed in any way whatsoever thus far, and named characters being mentioned is no more evidence than anything else that has been said since.
Still, the fact that this cast of alleged characters was documented as being involved in The Last of Us Part 3 seems like it would be a better premise for the multiplayer spin-off to follow. Indeed, The Last of Us surely has had no problem swapping its playable protagonists out for another, but the multiplayer spin-off being seemingly unrelated and distant from The Last of Us’ mascot characters would make a new cast logical.
If there is truly a story to pursue while engaging in whatever other multiplayer activities there are, the lives of a handful of survivors would be excellent to learn about and participate in. This way, the player could be a customizable individual who is involved in Lucas, Val, Ezra, Mason, and Gracie’s lives somehow. This could still work as the premise for Part 3, but there is now an inherent assumption that each mainline chapter will be connected to Ellie somehow, which will turn out to be true or not based on the third installment's story.
The Last of Us’ third chapter seems primed to either follow Ellie or Abby, and a new cast of characters would probably be far less interesting in Ellie and Abby’s absence. It will be exciting to see what is eventually achieved with the multiplayer spin-off and how it might differ from a supposedly inevitable Part 3, but these recent leaks already seem to have depicted a straightforward foundation for it.
No details about the game have been announced that would steer these leaks in any particular direction toward clarity, though it would be incredible to see PvP and PvE within survivor groups contesting one another for supplies and survival. There will need to be new characters, and if these leaks turn out to be true it would make more sense to see them actually apply to the multiplayer spin-off than The Last of Us Part 3.
The Last of Us’ multiplayer spin-off is currently in development.
