The Last of Us HBO

We didn't know how badly we wanted a third entry in The Last of Us franchise, one more harrowing adventure in Naughty Dog's bleak world, until director Neil Druckmann cast doubt on it ever happening.

He's so busy adapting the series for HBO, not to mention overseeing Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, is it possible that Hollywood might seduce him, as remains the case with George R.R. Martin and Game of Thrones, that the TV series might someday outpace the source material?

It's a good question and one IGN put to Druckmann himself on the red carpet of The Last of Us 2's season premiere. The creator, who will always be Doctor Uckmann in our eyes, said of the HBO show:

"I don’t know how long I’ll keep doing this or whether I’ll be given another opportunity. So I leave nothing on the line. Right now, it’s like, we have an ending in mind. And that ending will be it. That ending will be it for this story."

It's pretty comforting to hear, as all good things must end, even one of the better video game adaptations we've ever seen. This approach is consistent with how Druckmann approached the games themselves, as in the world of video games, like Hollywood, there are no guarantees:

"When I made The Last of Us 1, I didn’t know if there was going to be a sequel, so that had to be a definitive ending. When I worked on Uncharted 4, I don’t know if we’ll ever get to do it again. I need it to be a definitive ending. Last of Us 2, same way. All these things have to line up."

What do you think, will Druckmann stay true to his word? There are always side stories to be explored, which might make more sense in TV format, such as the early days of Joel and Tommy surviving, which we'd be fascinated to see. Let us know what you think in the comments section below.

[source ign.com]