The Last of Us co-creator and director Neil Druckmann is stepping back from creative duties on the upcoming third season of the hit HBO show, Deadline reveals today.
Druckmann, who serves as president of Naughty Dog, wrote and directed a number of episodes alongside showrunner Craig Mazin across the two seasons of the Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey-starring zombie show, but per Deadline's sources will not write or direct any Season 3 episodes. He will continue to serve as a co-creator and executive producer.
In an official statement, Druckmann confirms his standing down from the Emmy Award-winning show, citing a desire to focus entirely on Naughty Dog's new game:
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO. With work completed on season 2 and before any meaningful work starts on season 3, now is the right time for me to transition my complete focus to Naughty Dog and its future projects, including writing and directing our exciting next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative […]
Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. I’m deeply thankful of the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and their continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”
Mazin adds his two cents:
“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. I couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner. As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of The Last of Us Part II to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.”
Following Season 2 of The Last of Us, which aired from April to May of this year and ended on a pretty juicy cliffhanger, Season 3 is set to be led by supporting star Kaitlyn Dever in her role as vengeful soldier Abby who ! spoilers ! murdered Joel (Pascal) at the start of Season 2. This shakeup in cast comes as a way to narratively humanize Abby in the same way as The Last of Us Part II sequel game was able to do in a different format. HBO have not yet confirmed whether Season 3 of The Last of Us will be its last, although Mazin has previously expressed hope in wrapping the story up with four seasons.
Just how Druckmann's departure will affect The Last of Us remains to be seen. Stay tuned for updates on Season 3.
