Neil Druckmann has revealed that Naughty Dog considered making a prequel to The Last of Us but ultimately scrapped the project. WARNING, this article contains minor spoilers for episode 9 of the HBO series!

Neil Druckmann, co-creator of The Last of Us, revealed that Naughty Dog originally wanted to make a prequel to explore the events leading up to Joel and Ellie’s meeting. However, the project was later scrapped altogether.

Naughty Dog’s post-apocalyptic franchise fans have long hoped for an additional backstory, a Last of Us prequel that would explore Joel and Tommy’s relationship or a prequel that would shed more light on what happened after Sarah’s death in the opening scene of the original game.

Because the events of The Last of Us Part 1 take place 20 years after the start of the cordyceps epidemic, there is a lot of information left out for players when they embark on Joel and Ellie’s adventures. Whether it’s the characters’ backstories or everything that happened when the world as we know it collapsed.

In an interview with Kinda Funny, Neil Druckmann recently revealed that Naughty Dog was considering making a prequel game focusing on Ellie’s mother. This prequel would have explained Ellie’s immunity to the cordyceps virus and her relationship with the Fireflies. This project would not have been developed directly by Naughty Dog but by another studio. Despite seeming like a good idea to shed light on the characters’ pasts, the prequel game was ultimately scrapped.

In episode 9 of the HBO series, viewers meet the pregnant Anna. She is also played by Ellie’s original voice actress, Ashley Johnson. Anna gives birth to Ellie while being bitten by an infected. This may be the reason why Ellie is immune to cordyceps infection. Later in the same episode, the Fireflies’ leader Marlene explains to Joel that cordyceps thinks Ellie is already infected, which may be why she is immune.

According to Neil Druckmann, this whole story was planned for the original Last of Us game, but explaining it would have taken more time than the studio could cover in a single video game.

Unfortunately, this prequel never made it to the console. But the project proves that Naughty Dog still has much more to tell. The HBO series provided additional background information that gamers didn’t get from the game. And the upcoming season may reveal more details about Joel, Ellie and their companions’ pasts. However, The Last of Us Part 3 will unlikely be Naughty Dog’s next project. So gamers must wait longer to discover what happened after Part 2 ended.

Source: TheGamer