A former Naughty Dog developer who worked on The Last of Us has let slip a rather surprising conversation he had with series creator Neil Druckmann, which could have major implications for any future games.
Please be aware of major spoilers for The Last of Us below.
As those who have played The Last of Us and its sequel The Last of Us Part 2 will know, Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps infection which has devastated humanity. Much of the first game is Joel escorting Ellie across America to get to the Fireflies, who plan to use Ellie’s immunity to create a cure for the infection. Ellie is seen as being the answer to humanity’s salvation, and a lot is riding on Joel delivering her safely to the Fireflies. However, when it becomes apparent that in order to make a cure Ellie will die, Joel massacres the Fireflies to save her, and in doing so kills off any chance of a cure being created.
Or, did he? In an interview with YouTuber Kiwi Talkz, former Naughty Dog lighting artist Gabriel Betancourt claimed that when he was still at the studio, Druckmann told him that “several people” in this world are actually immune to Cordyceps, and that there is “a whole congregation of that kind of person”.
According to Betancourt, Druckmann wanted to tell a “more sophisticated story”, with “multiple characters and kind of expand on that”. Though, as Betancourt also said during the conversation, this would surely dilute the impact of Joel’s decision at the end of The Last of Us.
“I felt like the pillar of the story was Ellie being the only person with the cure,” Betancourt said. “And so protecting her, and making sure she got to where she needs to go to save humanity – because without the cure life is hopeless – that’s what created the gravity of that world. That was the context that made The Last of Us special.”
It is unclear if Druckmann and Naughty Dog may still explore the possibility of more immune survivors in a potential third series entry – after all, this conversation happened many years ago, and Betancourt is no longer at the studio, so plans may have changed. That being said, earlier this year, Druckmann teased a “few stops” still left on the series’ “road ahead”, though a third The Last of Us game is yet to be announced. Personally, if we do get another entry, I hope Ellie remains the only person immune to Cordyceps.
You can check out the full conversation with Betancourt below.
Naughty Dog is currently working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which is the start of an all new franchise for the studio. The game was first announced at the end of 2024, with a trailer featuring a retro futuristic energy that introduced us to Tati Gabrielle’s bounty hunter, Jordan A Mun.
While we still don’t know a huge amount about Naughty Dog’s upcoming release, Druckmann revealed last March that Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophecy explores the topics of “faith and religion”.
