Over the last 10 years, The Last of Us has only continued to grow in popularity. After making an outstanding debut with one of the greatest games ever made, The Last of Us returned seven years later with another incredible entry in the series, that despite the controversy surrounding it on launch, still managed to amass an excellent critical reception. And with HBO's The Last of Us bringing in even more fans, the franchise has really never been better. All that's needed now is The Last of Us Part 3.
From the moment The Last of Us Part 2 hit store shelves, video game journalists have been asking Naughty Dog's Neil Druckmann whether there will be a Last of Us Part 3 or not, and for years now, Druckmann has played his cards very close to his chest. With the recent success of HBO's The Last of Us, questions about a hypothetical Last of Us Part 3 have naturally resurfaced, and according to Druckmann's latest statements, while Naughty Dog is "open" to developing the sequel, it isn't currently in active development. But according to some recent leaks, that might not be entirely true.
The Recent Last of Us Part 3 Leaks Explained
Over the weekend, a new set of The Last of Us Part 3 leaks appeared online. Posted on the leaker's Patreon, DanielRPK made several big claims about The Last of Us Part 3's alleged story and cast of characters. According to DanielRPK, The Last of Us Part 3 will focus on a completely new group of survivors for at least part of its story. The group of five scavengers will reportedly be based in an old Victorian house on the outskirts of a devastated city.
DanielRPK also went into some detail about these supposed new characters. The first new character is Lucas, a friendly and kind-mannered survivor that will apparently end up turning a little darker throughout the game after he develops a relationship with another young scavenger in the group. Val will apparently be the leader of the house, though Ezra seeks to take control for himself. Mason is a former soldier, though the leak doesn't specify which military faction he belonged to, such as FEDRA or the WLF. Mason is torn between his loyalty to Ezra and what he believes to be best for the house as a whole. The final character mentioned in the leak is Gracie, with only her age of 18-25 being noted.
While that was the end of DanielRPK's leak, fellow leaker ViewerAnon took to Twitter to claim that this was true. ViewerAnon also claimed that Ellie will be returning in The Last of Us Part 3, stating that she will be "as important" as she was in The Last of Us Part 2. Later on in the same thread, ViewerAnon also mentioned that "major filming" for the game is happening this year, referring to the title's alleged motion capture process.
Though the motion capture process can vary wildly between different studios and projects, it's often the case that the motion capture stage is completed fairly on in development for something as narrative-driven as The Last of Us. So, if these rumors are true, then The Last of Us Part 3 could still be quite a ways off.
Of course, every leak should always be taken with a hefty pinch of salt. Though both DanielRPK and ViewerAnon have correctly leaked and predicted past projects, it doesn't mean that these leaks are true. Even in ViewerAnon's original tweet, they mention that The Last of Us Part 3 is still very early on in pre-production, and that these story details could easily be changed during development.