One of the places in The last of us part 3 it may be a settlement of people immune to Cordyceps brain infection like Ellie. This possibility stems from a recent interview with a former Naughty Dog developer, who revealed that series creator Neil Druckmann had already suggested more lore than was ultimately included in the first two The last of us games.
Spoilers ahead for The Last of Us Part 1 and Part 2.
Fans have long debated whether the Cordyceps fungus treatment is really as simple as Fireflies made it out to be at the end of the year The last of us part 1. What is not up for debate, however, is that Ellie's immunity to the devastating brain infection is real. Neither the first two main games nor HBO's hit TV adaptation have so far indicated that any other character in the franchise shares her condition.
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After a recent episode of the Kiwi Talkz podcast, in which Gabriel Betancourt, former lead lighting artist at Naughty Dog, sat down with host Reec Reilly, this long-standing assumption may have more cracks in it than previously thought. Betancourt, who worked at the Santa Monica-based studio from July 2012 to February 2019, recalled that Druckmann once told him there was “a whole congregation” of people immune to all forms of Cordyceps infection. The last of us universe. In other words, a community made up of individuals like Ellie.
Since neither the original play nor its 2020 sequel ever introduced or referred to such a group, the most straightforward reading of Betancourt's report is that this mysterious immunity deal remains part of Druckmann's unpublished lore. As such, he could potentially emerge in the long-rumored third The last of us game, either as a playable location or as a story background. Of course, this conclusion is contingent on Naughty Dog's co-president not revising or dismissing the concept in the years since he mentioned it to a colleague in late 2010.
Ellie, who is not the only immune person in the world, answers TLOU Lore
The biology of Ellie's condition lends further credence to the idea that more people in Naughty Dog's post-apocalyptic universe are immune. As hinted at in the first game and directly confirmed in the Season 1 finale of the HBO TV adaptation, Ellie was exposed to the Cordyceps fungus in utero. It is believed that this disrupted the normal course of the infection and led to her immunity. If prenatal exposure is indeed the mechanism behind immunity, it's statistically likely that Ellie isn't the only person in the franchise world to have experienced it. On that basis, settling people with the same condition would be consistent with the show's internal logic, especially since, like Ellie, everyone else who was immune would likely need to hide their mutation.
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The Last of Us Part 3 probably won't be released before the 2030s
Naughty Dog has yet to officially confirm plans for a third entry in its renowned franchise, although Druckmann has personally hinted The last of us 3 multiple times, in both February 2024 and September 2025. However, the studio is currently focused on finishing its sci-fi action-adventure Intergalactic: The Heretical Prophetit's rumored to be set to launch in mid-2027. As such, though The last of us part 3 is already in the works, likely to be released by the PlayStation 6 generation, sometime during the 1930s.
- Released
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January 19, 2024
- ESRB
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M for Mature: Blood and gore, intense violence, nudity, sexual content, strong language, drug use
- Publishers
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Sony Interactive Entertainment
