The Last of Us video game actor Troy Baker has said there's more to come for his character Joel, potentially including "more games."
Baker, who played Joel in Naughty Dog's The Last of Us and its sequel, made the remark while discussing the character's impact with fans — something an audience wider than video games has enjoyed with Pedro Pascal's portrayal of the character in HBO's The Last of Us TV series.
Warning! Spoilers for The Last of Us video games and TV show follow:
Alas, with Joel now dead in the games and the TV show, you'd think that would likely be it for the flannel-wearing hunk — but not so, said Baker, who likened the character to one potentially portrayed by many actors over time.
"I hope that Pedro is not the last person to play Joel," Baker said, speaking to Eurogamer. "I want to see this character be proliferated and iterated on in multiple mediums, whether it be TV, film, more games, comic books. I see people that cosplay as [Joel] all the time… he made an impact."
Baker's comment comes hot on the heels of remarks by franchise creator Neil Druckmann that suggested a third The Last of Us game will eventually get made — even if it is still some time off. Indeed, a former colleague of Druckmann's recently shared an eye-opening plot idea that the creator had once planned, which could seemingly play a large part.
Surely, any future game featuring Ellie would also include at least one flashback to her time with Joel, as a send-off to the series and Baker's original take on the character. Some kind of cameo for Pascal in HBO's final season of The Last of Us also feels inevitable.
"I definitely know we've not seen the last of Joel, whether that be Naughty Dog or somebody else," Baker concluded. Exactly when Joel may next appear, however, remains to be seen.
For his part, Druckmann has never ruled out making a third chapter of the saga, and Naughty Dog's official Grounded 2: Making The Last of Us Part 2 documentary even ends with Druckmann stating that he feels "there's one more chapter to this story" for Naughty Dog to tell. In the meantime, the studio is busy building Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which Druckmann is directing. The developer also has a second game in production that's being directed by Shaun Escayg, who previously helmed Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, which is not believed to be The Last of Us related. All of that likely means The Last of Us 3 won't launch until sometime in the 2030s.
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
