The players thought they knew the rules of the universe of The Last of Us : Ellie would be the only one immune to Cordyceps, which gives meaning to the ending of the first game. A confidence from a developer of Naughty Dog comes to crack this certainty.
According to him, Neil Druckman would have already imagined, in the lore of the license, a real colony of immune survivors like Ellie. An idea never before used which could well become the centerpiece of a hypothetical The Last of Us Part 3if the project ever sees the light of day.
The Last of Us 3: where does the immune rumor come from?
This information comes from Gabriel Betancourtex-Senior Lighting Artist at Naughty Dog between 2012 and 2019, recent guest on the Kiwi Talkz podcast. He says that internally, Neil Druckmann described to him the existence, in the universe of the series, of “a whole congregation” of immune people.
Still according to Betancourt, these people would be “immune to all forms of Cordyceps infection”. No trace of this community appears in any game or in the HBO series, which suggests that it is background that remained on paper, reusable for a future episode.
A colony of immunes in The Last of Us 3: coherent or not?
In the current canon, the Fireflies present Ellie as a unique case, which is why they consider sacrificing her for a hypothetical cure. The HBO series provided a key detail: her immunity comes from exposure to Cordyceps while she was still in her mother’s womb.
If this mechanism exists, it becomes credible that other babies, in other cities, have experienced the same situation. A secret colony of immune people would therefore remain compatible with the universe, provided that it was hidden to escape experiments, cults or preventive executions.
On a narrative level, the idea would not make Joel’s choice less serious, since he was unaware of the existence of these people, but it would change its scope: Ellie would no longer be the only hope of humanity, rather the best known of an exceptional phenomenon. On the gameplay side, characters crossing the spores without a mask would also offer new level design situations.
The Last of Us 3: when would Naughty Dog explore this avenue?
Officially, The Last of Us Part 3 does not exist yet. Neil Druckmann, however, explained that he still had at least one possible chapter in mind for this story, while repeating that he will only launch a sequel if he finds an idea strong enough.
For now, the studio is focusing its strengths on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophethis sci-fi action game expected around 2027 on PS5, as well as another mysterious solo project. Under these conditions, even if the colony of immune people became the heart of The Last of Us 3players shouldn’t expect to visit it until the next generation of consoles. It remains to be seen whether this idea will excite the community or will be seen as a betrayal of one of the pillars of the saga.