Neil Druckmann is Exiting ‘The Last of Us’ Ahead of Season Three

Some very surprising news here, as everything seemed to be full steam ahead for Season Three of The Last of Us. The first two seasons were shepherded to HBO by Craig Mazin as well as the game’s original creator Neil Druckmann. Well, it turns out that Druckmann is now stepping away before the new season gets underway.

According to Druckmann himself, via Instagram and his video game company Naughty Dog, he’s returning to focus on video games. That’s exciting for gamers, of course, though possibly a question mark for the show going forward. Mazin should still be at the helm, which is good, but Druckmann’s perspective will likely be missed.

This is his message:

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 for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.

Source: Instagram