Troy Baker, the actor who voiced Joel in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us games, believes the character's story is far from over. Speaking to Eurogamer, Baker suggested that Joel could appear in future projects across multiple formats, despite being dead in both the game series and HBO's recent television adaptation.
Baker expressed hope that Pedro Pascal, who plays Joel in the HBO show, won't be the only actor to bring the character to life. "I want to see this character be proliferated and iterated on in multiple mediums, whether it be TV, film, more games, comic books," Baker said. He pointed to the character's cultural reach, noting that fans regularly cosplay as Joel, evidence of the impact he's had beyond gaming audiences.
The actor's comments align with earlier statements from franchise creator Neil Druckmann, who has indicated a third The Last of Us game is in development, though likely years away. Druckmann has previously mentioned feeling there's "one more chapter to this story" for Naughty Dog to tell, and a former colleague recently shared plot concepts the creator had once considered for future installments.
Any third game would almost certainly include Joel in some capacity, most likely through flashback sequences that could serve as a proper farewell to Baker's original performance. A cameo from Pascal in the HBO series' final season also seems probable given the character's significance.
Naughty Dog is currently occupied with other projects. Director Neil Druckmann is leading work on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, while Shaun Escayg, who previously directed Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, is helming a separate game in production. Neither of these appears to be Last of Us related. The combination of these commitments suggests a third Last of Us game won't arrive until sometime in the 2030s.
"I definitely know we've not seen the last of Joel, whether that be Naughty Dog or somebody else," Baker concluded during his remarks.
Author Emily Chen: "Baker's faith in Joel's future is welcome, but the character's story in the games has been told. The real question is whether Naughty Dog has anything fresh to say about him."
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