After near-unanimous approval and solid sales, it was almost inevitable that Naughty Dog would look to pursue a new adventure in its cordyceps-ridden world with The Last of Us 2, but now voice actor Nolan North – who portrayed the sleazy David – has confirmed that the sequel is indeed in development.
The topic arose during a Metrocon panel over the weekend, where North spoke extensively about his involvement in both Visceral Games’ nebulous Star Wars title and the hotly-anticipated Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. When asked whether Naughty Dog was exploring the future of the Uncharted series beyond A Thief’s End, North all but confirmed that the Sony-owned studio is at the very least considering the possibility of a follow-up to TLOU: “Not yet, I know they’re doing The Last of Us 2.”
Truth be told, we’ve heard little-to-no information about The Last of Us 2 since the original game was ported over to PlayStation 4. Around that time, Creative Director Neil Druckmann stated that there was a 50/50 chance of seeing a potential sequel, but since then, it’s been radio silent. Though it was made at a separate panel, fellow voice actor Troy Baker admitted that he “knows nothing” of Naughty Dog’s plans for a follow-up to the post-apocalyptic masterpiece.
“I know nothing. I don’t know if we’re gonna do another one or not. If we do, then I trust Neil [Druckmann, creative director] and Bruce [Straley, game director] and everyone at Naughty Dog to tell a story that needs to be told,” Baker said during a panel at Indy PopCon last weekend.”
Whether this means that The Last of Us 2 will, like many have stipulated, diverge from the main story of Joel and Ellie and instead focus on a whole new cast of survivors is still up for question. Nevertheless, it’s interesting to note the two disparate viewpoints.
What do you think, though? Is Naughty Dog working on one of the industry’s worst-kept secrets right now? Let us know your thoughts below.
