The Timing Lines Up For ‘The Last Of Us Part 3’ And Season 4 Of The Show

Alright folks, my conspiracy theory is taking shape, and I think there’s some actual math behind it. I believe that Naughty Dog has a plan to release The Last of Us Part 3 in the next few years, and that the timing will line up so the game can be adapted for the fourth season of the HBO Last of Us series, which has proved to be a megahit for the channel.

Why do I think this? The calendar lines up. Here’s what I’ve deduced via the release dates of the games, and the potential schedule of the show:

The Games – While there was a giant gap of seven years between the first two games, there was also the enormous Uncharted 4 that was made in the in-between time during those years. Naughty Dog is reportedly working on both Factions and a new IP. There have been rumblings around a third game, but it does not seem production has started. Therefore, based on that, my guess is that we could see Part 3 some time in 2025 or 2026. 2027 would be a full seven years after the second game, if you want to go that far. But that’s okay, given how that works with the show timing.

• The Last of Us – June 14, 2013
• Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End – May 10, 2016
• The Last of Us Part 2 – June 19, 2020
• (Potential) The Last of Us Part 3 – Late 2025/2026

The Show – A few things to note here. Craig Mazin has already confirmed that yes, next season will adapt Part 2 of the game and they’re not doing something non-game, lengthy in-between time season. He’s also said that the game is so big it would likely take two seasons to adapt it. Additionally, with a show this big, you do not operate on the “new season every 12 months” schedule, as it’s more likely to be at least a year and a half between seasons. So using that as a baseline, the timing for season 4 would be…

• The Last of Us Season 1 (the whole first game) – January 15, 2023
• The Last of Us Season 2 (half the second game) – Spring 2024
• The Last of Us Season 3 (the other half of the second game) – Holiday 2025/Winter 2026
• The Last of Us Season 4 (the third game that doesn’t exist) – 2027 or beyond

So, you see the idea here. Season 4 of The Last of Us could air after Part 3 of the game somewhere in the 2025-2027 region. It’s also the case that since Neil Druckmann is so closely tied to production of the show, the two could almost be written/storyboarded simultaneously, so it’s not like you’d necessarily have to wait until the game is out to start writing or even filming an adaptation of the third game, since the showrunners obviously already know what’s coming.

While it will take 3-4 more years for me to be proven right or wrong here, I believe this is what we’ll see happen in the end. I welcome your dissenting takes.

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