Whether one appreciates the controversial narrative choices of The Last of Us Part 2 or not, it’s difficult to deny the impact it had when it was released around four years ago. It pushed the technical capabilities of last-gen consoles as it featured some of the most realistic visuals and grounded gameplay ever put into a video game. That is just how developer Naughty Dog used to do things, as the best version of a product was at the top of its priority list.
Well, according to The Last of Us Part 2 director Neil Druckmann, the studio actually had a spinoff title planned for one of the best characters in the series until it was shelved.
Naughty Dog Wrote a Story That Focused on Tommy After the Events of The Last of Us Part 2
Similar to how Naughty Dog handled the post-release period for the first installment in the series, the studio released the second part of its Grounded documentaries for The Last of Us Part 2 as well, the only difference being that this one is more than two hours long. Thanks to that, there is a lot of new information that has been revealed to the fans by Neil Druckmann and the rest of the team working at the company.
There were also various rumors that the director confirmed and debunked during the long documentary, and one of these stood out the most, becoming the highlight of the show.
According to Neil Druckmann himself, there is a potential spinoff story floating around the offices of Naughty Dog that would have focused on none other than Joel’s brother, Tommy, and what he has been up to since The Last of Us Part 2 ended. There are plenty of possibilities as to how the tale of Tommy could have unfolded, including a scenario in which he personally takes it upon himself to absolutely obliterate Abby for destroying his and his loved ones’ lives.
But since not much else was shared about the title, the only thing left to do is speculate about what could have been.
Neil Druckmann also talked about how he has an initial concept for a sequel to The Last of Us Part 2, which would obviously be called The Last of Us Part 3, but there was one mistake that many publications were making with the rumors a few years ago. The Tommy storyline was actually not long enough to be a full-fledged title, so it was not exactly what The Last of Us Part 3 would have solely focused on.
The Adventures of Tommy After The Last of Us Part 2 Can Still Be Released
The director of The Last of Us Part 2 confirmed that the story of Tommy’s adventures “was always a small” one and “was never a full title.” Unfortunately, there was a lot going on at the studio during that time, and priorities were all over the place, especially with the revamping of the Naughty Dog work culture. This led to the tale of Tommy being shelved, but Neil Druckmann is still hopeful about its eventual release in some shape or form.
The co-president of Naughty Dog stated that he “still believe(s) one day it’ll see the light of day,” but it does not necessarily have to be a full-length game like The Last of Us Part 2. According to Neil Druckmann, Tommy’s story has the potential to be “a game or a show,” but the studio has not decided how to proceed with it just yet.
The extensive documentary also revealed how many employees felt burned out as they had to put in crunch hours to meet deadlines for the massive sequel.
How do you think Naughty Dog should proceed after The Last of Us Part 2? Would you like to see a spinoff title focused on Tommy, or do you want one to focus on some other character? Let us know in the comments!
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