Possible Last of Us 2 "Put On Ice" Until Uncharted 4 Is Done, Naughty Dog Says

If Naughty Dog decides to move forward on the rumored sequel to 2013's The Last of Us, don't expect to hear about it anytime soon. In a new interview, two of the key developers behind the original game, Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann, said they are focused exclusively on 2015's Uncharted 4: A Thief's End right now, a project for which they are sharing directing duties.

"That's all a big if," Straley said when asked about The Last of Us 2 in an interview with Game Informer. "We're 110 percent in Uncharted 4 territory now. Blinders on, make this awesome."

Some fans have said that The Last of Us might be better suited as a one-off game that doesn't get a follow-up. Druckmann seemed to agree, while also saying Naughty Dog has already thought about some ideas for a sequel.

"We totally get it, because we have those same feelings as well," Druckmann said about The Last of Us being a one-off game. "We have brainstormed sequel ideas for The Last of Us, and we've brainstormed ideas for new games, but all of that is put on ice right now while we work on Uncharted 4."

Druckmann and Straley were also asked if they could ever see a sequel to The Last of Us being made without them. Druckmann couldn't bring himself to answer the question. Straley stepped in for him and said, "I will answer for [Druckmann.] He would not be OK with that."

Overall, Druckmann said it's a "big assumption" to think that Naughty Dog will ever make a sequel to The Last of Us.

In late December, "The Last of Us 2" was spotted on a former Naughty Dog developer's resume. Before that, Druckmann said The Last of Us 2 was a 50/50 shot.

There appears to be a commercial opportunity for a sequel to The Last of Us, as the original game sold more than 6 million copies. Notably, that number doesn't include sales of The Last of Us Remastered, a new version of the game released for PlayStation 4 last summer.

While a sequel to The Last of Us remains unannounced, Sony is moving forward on a feature film based on the post-apocalyptic series. Druckmann is writing the script for the movie, which could star Game of Thrones actress Maisie Williams as Ellie. Spider-Man director Sam Raimi is producing the picture.