- Former Naughty Dog developer Gabriel Betancourt claims Neil Druckmann told him there are “several” immune people in The Last of Us
- Betancourt recalls Druckmann saying that “There’s a whole congregation of that kind of person” in the game’s world
- He adds that Druckmann wanted to tell a story “with multiple characters”
Former Naughty Dog lighting artist Gabriel Betancourt has claimed The Last of Us series creator Neil Druckmann told him that Ellie wasn’t the only immune person in the game’s world.
If you’re familiar with The Last of Us, you’ll know that Ellie is immune to the Cordyceps infection that ravaged the world. In the game, it’s Joel’s mission to deliver her across America to the Fireflies so the rebel group can use her to create a cure.
However, spoiler alert, Joel discovers that creating a cure means Ellie will die in the process, so he kills all the Fireflies and whisks her away in an act of love, a controversial decision that also has major repercussions in The Last of Us Part 2.
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It’s thought that Joel took away the only chance humanity had of ever having a cure, since Ellie is the only immune person in the world. Or is she?
According to Betancourt, in a recent interview with Kiwi Talkz, Druckmann told him that there were “several people” in the world who were immune to the infection.
The developer explained that before leaving the studio in 2019, he had a conversation with Druckmann about keeping Ellie as the only immune person, because it would otherwise diminish The Last of Us‘ ending.
Betancourt recalls Druckmann saying that “There’s a whole congregation of that kind of person”, meaning immune people, and he wanted to “tell a more sophisticated story. I want to tell a story with multiple characters and kind of expand on that.”
“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.”
The concept of additional immune people didn’t end up becoming a plot point in The Last of Us Part 2, and it’s still unclear if Druckmann intends to follow through with his comments.
It’s been years since Betancourt’s conversation with the now-head of Naughty Dog, so it’s possible ideas have changed, evolved, or been completely scrapped.
While a third The Last of Us game hasn’t been announced at this time, Neil Druckmann has seemingly teased the future of the PlayStation series, writing on social media about a “few stops that remain on the road ahead.”
Druckmann has previously discussed the possibility of The Last of Us Part 3 rumors, saying, “the only thing I would say is don’t bet on there being more of ‘Last of Us.’ This could be it.” However, the director’s statement contradicted what he’d previously said about the potential of there being “one more chapter to this story”.
Currently, Naughty Dog is developing its new single-player game for the PS5, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
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