Following the announcement of the remake of the first The Last of Us, now dubbed "Part 1" following the sequel's own naming, it's clear that Naughty Dog is keen to demonstrate to players that The Last of Us is going to be a saga of characters and stories to follow. Already fans are speculating about what The Last of Us Part 3 might bring and where it would go, but it could be a long wait to see if these ideas pan out.
As the series continues to grow and expand, however, Naughty Dog now has a breadth of characters and lore within The Last of Us world it has created which are begging for further attention. Since Part 3 seems inevitable, Naughty Dog should consider taking a step back and revisiting some of its more iconic characters and giving them the prequel that they deserve. While there are obvious choices with Joel due to his main role in The Last of Us, there are still several others who fans might want to see a return.
A Joel and Tommy Prequel
While a decent portion of the original The Last of Us was given to the two brother's backstory, it was more told and less experienced. For instance, while it was confirmed that following the outbreak the brothers remained together for a while as bandits, Tommy left Joel to join the Fireflies and Joel relegated himself to a smuggler's life after meeting Tess.
Arguably, much of Joel's history has been explored through the events of the first and second games, meaning Naughty Dog would have to work harder to justify revisiting his story, even if he was popular among fans. Tommy, therefore, is a better candidate to be the protagonist of a prequel about the two brothers; a story involving the younger brother needing to mature and outgrow his older, traumatized sibling, finding new meaning with the Fireflies, and meeting his future wife Maria would be interesting.
A Tess Prequel
Speaking of Joel and Tess, the latter might serve as a good focus for a prequel. While players are familiar with who she was at the end of her life in The Last of Us, there was the implication of a great deal more existing between her and Joel. The original plot of The Last of Us originally had Tess serve as the game's antagonist, chasing Joel and Ellie as they trekked across America. Perhaps elements of this scrapped storyline could be reworked into a new game that follows Tess' life both before and after the outbreak, culminating in when she finally met Joel. A prequel might also help explain why Tess was the driving force behind agreeing to escort Ellie and convincing Joel to carry on after her death, though the upcoming remake of Part 1 may rework Tess instead.
A Marlene Prequel
The Fireflies were a significant part of the original The Last of Us despite not actually appearing much. Their presence is still felt throughout the entire game, led by Marlene. Marlene's backstory is as vague as Tess', once more giving Naughty Dog material to work from. For example, it was revealed that Marlene had a close friendship with Ellie's mother, whose dying wish was that Marlene look after Ellie, and following the events of The Last of Us: Left Behind, Marlene and Ellie were thrust back together, leaving many years in between left blank. Those early years after the outbreak, leading the Fireflies, and finally finding a possible cure with Ellie would be a strong contender for a prequel story.
A Dina Prequel
Serving as Ellie's main love interest in The Last of Us Part 2, players saw plenty of Dina as the pair's relationship progressed and developed over the course of the game. However, much like Tommy and Joel, Dina's past was only ever relayed to the player and never actually experienced. Naughty Dog can capitalize on that groundwork. For instance, Dina was orphaned and fended for herself alongside her older sister Talia. A prequel story could explore how these two characters coped, what caused them to split apart, and how Dina finally made her way to Jackson. Following the events of The Last of Us Part 2 with Dina and JJ leaving Ellie, it could be that Naughty Dog has plans to further explore her character, either in Part 3 or in her own spin-off.
A Lev and Yara Prequel
The introduction of the Seraphites in The Last of Us Part 2 added a new religious dimension to the post-apocalyptic world Naughty Dog had created. Similar to the cannibals David led in The Last of Us, the Seraphites provided a new perspective on how radical factions would rise up in hard times. However, Lev's and Yara's backstories aren't interesting just because they provide an insight into the religious extremism, but also because of Lev's status as a trans man.
His story of transitioning while trapped inside the cult, his self-doubt and actualization being the catalyst behind him and Yara escaping, and ultimately leading them to meet Abby would be add up to a rich prequel about the two siblings. It would also be a progressive achievement for Naughty Dog to step from having a gay character as its lead to a trans one for a prequel. However, once again Naughty Dog may be saving Abby and Lev for The Last of Us Part 3 or for future appearances in the series.
A Manny Prequel
One last possible candidate for a prequel Manny; interestingly, his story began outside the US, meaning a prequel story could show how the outbreak impacted other countries. Manny grew up in Mexico with his father and later joined the Fireflies, until eventually he was stationed at Salt Lake Hospital where the final events of The Last of Us take place. Manny was among the first to discover the aftermath of Ellie's surgery and Joel's rampage, ultimately leading him and Abby into the events of The Last of Us Part 2 where they kill Joel. His story has a multifaceted approach, between life in Mexico, life with the Fireflies, and then life with the Washington Liberation Front.
Evidently, Naughty Dog has many characters and periods of history to explore from the day of the infection's outbreak to the events of The Last of Us Part 2. Ideal choices do appear to be characters who have already met their demise in the events of either two games, meaning the worry about how a prequel might impact future games is negligible. It will remain to be seen if the studio takes the plunge and dedicates some of its team to a prequel as it gears up for the release of the Part 1 remake.
The Last of Us Part 1 releases September 2, 2022 on PS5. A PC version is planned.