Troy Baker Is Open To New Stories Within The Last Of Us Universe, Including A Prequel That Explores What Happened With Tommy And Joel

Prolific video game actor Troy Baker has revealed during an interview with Insider Gaming that he’s interested in being a part of new stories within The Last of Us universe, whether it’s a prequel or something entirely new.

Baker was asked if he would be interested in a prequel that would follow Tommy and Joel in the years prior to the first game, during the early years of the apocalypse. We don’t know much about this period, although it is established that both characters did whatever they could to survive, including killing innocent people. However, their relationship became fractured at some point.

I would be on board with anything. If Neil decides that he has a place for me, then I’ve learned at this point to listen to him, because he’s really smart. There’s this beautiful thing about the mystery of what happened between Tommy and Joel, there is all the time, the 20 years, you’ve got such beautiful lore to choose from. I think that makes a great foundation for a story.

I’ve also learned to trust Naughty Dog, and maybe there’s a whole other story there that we’re not thinking about. I’m going to let Neil and Naughty Dog decide, as we look forward, are we looking back? Are we going to revisit something? Or are we going to continue to reinvent. That’s their call. But whether it is something that you are playing, or with me with a controller in hand, I’m there day one.

Interestingly, Baker told Eurogamer back in April this year that he doesn’t think we’ve seen the last of Joel, although he didn’t specify in what capacity we could see the character again, be it “Naughty Dog or somebody else.” Chatter about The Last of Us Part III has been doing the rounds for a couple of years now, with Neil Druckmann stating he believes there’s “more story to tell.” Having said that, in March last year he told Variety that we shouldn’t be on there being more The Last of Us, noting “this could be it.”

The Last of Us was released in 2013 for the PS3 and was remastered for PS4 the following year. Naughty Dog then remade the game for PS5 with a significant visual makeover as The Last of Us: Part I in September 2022. Meanwhile, The Last of Us: Part II launched for PS4 in June 2020 and was remastered for PS5 in January 2024.

[Source – Insider Gaming]