Naughty Dog's follow up to its 2013 critical and commercial smash hit, aptly titled The Last of Us 2, was another blockbuster entry in its already impressive repertoire of interactive entertainment. Assuming Naughty Dog chooses to release a threequel some day, there are a few directions The Last of Us 3 could take the post apocalyptic series next. Potentially, there may be a clue hiding in plain sight in the final chunk of the game when Ellie encounters the sadistic gang of human slavers called "The Rattlers."
Although the ruthless gang of TLOU2's Rattlers serve as the final threat to contend with for the climactic final set piece, not much information or context is truly given about who they are, leaving much of their backstory and place in the game world an overall mystery to the player. It is made abundantly clear just through simple interaction and observation that they hold no sympathy or care towards others, holding innocent people hostage and even keeping clickers tied up in their own base.
The Last of Us 2: Who Are The Rattlers?
On a surface level, these newly introduced antagonists may just seem like another bloodthirsty faction to contend with, similar to David's gang of cannibals from the original. There could be much darker implications for this series' world with the inclusion of the Rattlers, though. Scattered notes around their settlement, as well as explicit visual cues, indicate that the Rattlers are much less interested in using people as food but rather do to their every bidding. As humanity continues to slowly die out, such is the overarching theme of The Last of Us, so do the last shreds of decency become obsolete, resulting in sadistic maniacs such as the Rattlers in question.
The Last of Us 2 had a time jump between itself and the original game, showing what had changed, improved, and gotten worse in this horrifying world, with new factions rising up as well. Fireflies, the WLF, and Seraphites all had their personal vendettas against one another and sense of moral codes, but for the Rattlers, it seems like anything is on the table to hunt, maim, and torture for the sheer pleasure of it. In a world where the most prime concern is living to see tomorrow, many would surely tap into their more primal instincts and see joining the Rattlers as a safe bet to survive (it's either that or endless manual labor for them, from the looks of it).
The Last of Us 3 - The Rattlers' Potential Role
Another time jump leading into The Last of Us Part 3 can show the Rattlers having risen to a point of dominance, perhaps even wiping out aforementioned factions to further develop just how formidable they've become. They've learned how to weaponize the infected, brainwashed any remaining pockets of the surviving population, and/or could do any number of blatantly evil things, simply because they enjoy their iron grip on the chaos and fear they've helped to spread on the world. This bleak setup and barbaric adversary would provide Ellie and any new protagonists seemingly insurmountable odds to contend with but all the more reason than ever to to fight for one last bastion of hope in third game.
This theme of hope and moving forward in a time of despair can function as the centerpiece to The Last of Us 3's narrative, while simultaneously bring the entire series full circle thematically. The Last of Us followed Joel's love for Ellie and how that hope to be happy again with a daughter figure pushed him forward. The Last of Us Part 2 showed the dual protagonists Ellie and Abby blinded by hatred and revenge, only to understand that it brought them greater pain than before, choosing instead to hold onto the hope their loved ones gave them in the first place. The Last of Us 3 can bring final closure to this arc, with Ellie perhaps understanding she must become the literal cure for 'humanity' as an sense of being and not just from a medical perspective as seen the first game.
This infected world may not be pleasant, but as seen in the first two games, there are still pockets of hope sprinkled everywhere. Beautiful moments of compassion between main characters, new communities being formed like the one seen in Jackson in The Last of Us 2, and even smaller moments like passing jokes in character dialogue are all worth holding onto for those still choosing not to let go of their human side. The Rattlers, with all their devious and merciless behavior, go against this very notion, reminding Ellie what she's fought so hard to preserve in the first place, just as Joel and even Abby did: hope and those close to them.
Of course, it is possible that Naughty Dog's intended use for the Rattlers could have been just been to serve as a physical threat in the final act of The Last of Us 2 and nothing more. Although far more cruel than other ensembles, they are still just another group twisted to form their own set of philosophies in this gruesome world and maybe that was entirely the point that Naughty Dog was trying to convey. Still, it would be a shame to introduce such a terrifying new groups of rogues, who in a world filled with rabid undead make players question who the real monsters are, and not bring them back for a third game.
The Last of Us 3 is not known to be in development.