Now that The Last of Us 2 is out and Naughty Dog has said it doesn't plan on making any TLOU2 DLC, fans will no doubt be turning their thoughts to The Last of Us 3. While it may be nearly a decade away from release, The Last of Us 2's resounding sales success means that The Last of Us 3 is an inevitability. The question is, though, what exactly the game will be about, and which characters will it feature.
The Last of Us 3 could really go in a number of very interesting directions, either expanding on characters established in the first two games, or following a brand new group of survivors trying to survive in the post-apocalyptic United States. However, it's safe to say that many fans will want to see what happens next to the various characters from The Last of Us 2, and so one would hope that the next game will follow up on some of TLOU2's loose ends.
Here are just some of the different storylines that could be featured in The Last of Us 3. Please note that this post will have MAJOR SPOILERS for The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2.
Abby, Lev, and the Fireflies
Abby and Lev bond through shared trauma and horror throughout the course of The Last of Us 2, becoming a great team in the process. Abby takes Lev under her wing after Yara's death, and protects her as they travel across the country in search of the Fireflies. Abby and Lev are captured by the Rattlers and nearly killed at the end of The Last of Us 2, but Ellie ends up saving them and lets them escape. The Last of Us 3 could show players what happens next with Abby and Lev, though the severely negative fan reaction to Abby may mean that Naughty Dog would be reluctant to make her a central character in the next game. That would be unfortunate, though, because it would be interesting to find out if Abby and Lev manage to reunite with the Fireflies.
Brand New Characters
Half of The Last of Us 2 is spent playing as Abby instead of Joel or Ellie, so Naughty Dog clearly isn't shy about exploring completely brand new characters in this franchise. While The Last of Us 3 will almost certainly feature Ellie, and maybe Abby and Lev as well, fans may not complain if the new game is set elsewhere in the United States with a focus on completely brand new characters. This could be one way for Naughty Dog to continue its popular survival-horror franchise and shrug off some of the baggage now associated with it thanks to the mixed fan reception to The Last of Us 2.
Ellie and Dina
At the end of The Last of Us 2, Ellie at first retires to a farmhouse with her girlfriend Dina, where they start raising Dina and Jesse's child together. However, Tommy reveals Abby's whereabouts to Ellie, and she can't resist heading back out to hunt her down to avenge Joel's death. Ellie returns from her trip to Santa Barbara, California without having killed Abby, but finds that the farmhouse is empty, save for her art room. Ellie attempts to play the guitar that Joel gave her as a gift, only to find that she is unable to play it properly now that she lost two fingers in her latest fight with Abby.
Perhaps one of the most obvious directions The Last of Us 3 could go would be focusing on Ellie attempting to repair her damaged relationship with Dina. How exactly that would result in a violent, post-apocalyptic adventure remains to be seen. Presumably, Dina returned to Jackson, but maybe she traveled somewhere else, and Ellie goes out in search of her. There's a lot of different directions that Naughty Dog could go with Ellie and Dina's relationship, but it would be nice for the couple to have a happy ending of some kind.
Isaac's Revenge
A great many Last of Us 2 characters die during the course of the game, and many of their deaths are definitive. However, there is one character who may not actually be dead. Unlike the other deaths in the game, Isaac isn't actually shown to be dead. He is shot in the back by Yara, but the camera quickly pans away to follow Abby and Lev as they flee from the Wolves. While it's more likely that Isaac is dead, the off-chance that he survived could result in some unique storytelling for The Last of Us 3.
Isaac was built up to be an imposing, dangerous leader in The Last of Us 2 but didn't get a ton of screen time, so perhaps The Last of Us 3 could see him realize his full potential. Similarly to how Ellie and Abby were on quests for revenge in Last of Us 2, maybe Isaac decides to take the WLF and hunt down Abby and Lev in the third game. Plus, there is a precedent in The Last of Us for characters appearing to be dead only to actually be alive, with Joel's brother Tommy being the perfect example. If nothing else, this would also be a great excuse to bring actor Jeffrey Wright back into the mix.
Joel Prequel
It's safe to say that many Last of Us fans were devastated to see Abby kill Joel at the beginning of The Last of Us 2, and so perhaps a prequel focusing on the character would be the best course of action for Naughty Dog to continue the franchise. There are huge swaths of Joel's life that have yet to be explored, and it could tell some interesting stories while filling in some gaps. Joel is clearly a hugely popular character, and so there is potential to expand his story and give fans more time with him in a future game.
The Last of Us 3 is not currently announced.