The Last of Us 3’s Cordyceps Virus is Likely Going the Way of The Walking Dead – GameRant

A sequel to The Last of Us 2 seems inevitable, but whenever it releases, it also seems the cordyceps virus will be more akin to the zombies in TWD.

There's enough open-ended plot threads by the end of The Last of Us 2 that a sequel seems inevitable. Many want to know what becomes of Dina and JJ, if Ellie has found them and reunited, if Abby and Lev found the fireflies, and more. However, even listing what many fans may want answered in The Last of Us 3 highlights that there's a significant detail missing: the Cordyceps Virus and its mutations.

The Last of Us 2 featured a few new mutations, such as the Shambler and The Rat King (with the latter likely being a one-off formed under very specific circumstances). With this in mind, it's not like the Cordyceps virus victims have altogether changed too much, and just like The Walking Dead, it seems likely their threat and severityare becoming less and less of an issue.

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In The Last of Us, Ellie and her immunity was a driving force of the game. Keeping her alive was important to Joel as a result (with this later becoming true because she's like a daughter to him). This special trait of Ellie's highlighted how much of a threat the Runners, the Clickers, and more were. Sure, there were the Fireflies there at the end and the various bandit figures that Ellie and Joel came into conflict with, but the overshadowing of the Infected were always the real danger in the game.

Come The Last of Us 2, it's highly symbolic that Ellie has covered up her bite mark; she no longer presents herself as immune. This secret comes in handy later on in the game, but it also does something to the general tonethe Infected go from a blight upon life with a chance to be cured to an everyday motion. There are moments with the Rat King which are as influential as the humans of the first game, but for the most part, The Last of Us 2 is a conflict between people: the Seraphites, the Wolves, Ellie and Abby, and so much more. the Infected are just there now.

Based on the progression of the story, it seems like the Infected will matter even less in The Last of Us 3, with the conflict between people taking center stage and the Infected becoming the mindless easy-to-kill creatures at certain points. In other words, its story is following a very similar story arc to The Walking Dead.

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First off, the naming conventions between the two are awfully simply yet carry a unique inversion to them. The Walking Dead as a title at first seemingly refers to the iconic zombies of the show, but as it goes on, it turns out that the title is a reference to the Survivors who rinse and repeat, going through the motions of life. They are alive, but they do not live.There's a similar situation to The Last of Us: there's the obvious implication that this references the survivors, those who are left among humanity as "The Last of Us." However, as Ellie and Abby tend to prove, there's not a lot of humanity left and with the zombies becoming less of a thread, there's a tonal shift in that it could refer to those who are pure of heart left. The rest didn't diethey became just like the Infected.

This is notable because it influences the direction of the story. As The Walking Dead moved on, as they went from living in the Prison to forming a community, it was about taking back that life. Twists and turns aside, getting back that life means disregarding the dead except as just a plot device, which is all the story is ultimately about. Moving on, enjoying life, and taking the hits as they comeafter Carl's death, after Rick Grimes' disappearance, and so on. As such, this type of post-apocalyptic storytelling could suggest two potential roads for The Last of Us 2: to buck expectations again, diving back into the monstrosity of the infected, or to tell a story about a world where they happen to exist.

The first is the least likely, seemingly. This would require a cure to be brought back into the fold, this would require it not to be some trick but a legitimate thing, and this would require a living of rebuilding the whole world as seen in Jackson on a small scale. There would be indications of hope among the monstrosities, and there would likely be new types of infected. It would be surprising to see this happening after The Last of Us 2, but altogether, it's not impossible.

The more likely option is that the game continues to tell its stories: Ellie's story officially comes to an end, Abby and Lev find what they're looking for (whatever shape the Fireflies are in), and there's some easy ending to the entire "zombie apocalypse" where these things become normal parts of life. This would seemingly make the most sense, as to not walk back the entire meaning of The Last of Us, and it would also mean the world will likely always be the same.

Of course, whether or not a sequel ever comes into play and what it covers is all speculation, but given the critical reception of The Last of Us 2, it seems likely Ellie's and Abby's adventures are not quite over yet.

The Last of Us 2 is available now on PS4.

MORE: The Last of Us 2 Leaves a Lot of Questions Unanswered, But That's Probably the Point

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When Joshua Duckworth received Pokemon Yellow for Christmas at 5-years-old, his fate as a gamer was set. Since then, he's been involved with every step of the gaming industries' growth from the golden PS1 era and the dying days of the arcade to any current gaming trend. When he's not writing, playing his own games, or thinking about writing or playing his games, he's probably the second player to his son's Pokemon Let's Go, Pikachu! file. Joshua has an MA degree in English from Jacksonville State University, and the best way to contact him is at jduckworth874@gmail.com.

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The Last of Us 3's Cordyceps Virus is Likely Going the Way of The Walking Dead - GameRant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero