The Last of Us Season 3 will see a major creative shake-up as series co-creator Neil Druckmann will leave the show. Video game developer Naughty Dog is one of the most respected studios in the industry thanks to its work on Uncharted and The Last of Us. A big part of its success (though his haters might argue this) is because of Neil Druckmann, who has risen the ranks of the studio from a regular developer to game director to head of the company. His creative success on The Last of Us eventually allowed him to partner with TV writer/director Craig Mazin to bring the games to life via an acclaimed HBO series.
HBO was bullish on the future of the series as it announced that The Last of Us Season 3 was already in the works ahead of Season 2’s premiere. Although reviews were more mixed and viewership was down from Season 1, it was still a big draw for HBO subscribers and will likely continue to be a big show. Unfortunately, Neil Druckmann, credited for some of the better episodes of the show, will not be returning to work on Season 3.
Neil Druckmann released a statement confirming his departure from The Last of Us Season 3, noting that he wishes to focus his efforts on his next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and future video game projects.
According to The Ankler’s Lesley Goldberg who initially broke the news, Druckmann had been involved in breaking the story of Season 3 with Mazin, so it seemed like he intended to work on Season 3 early on. Despite this seeming a bit sudden, Druckmann’s departure was amicable and was not the result of any sort of dramatic conflict. The report also notes that Naughty Dog’s Ryan James will represent the developer in some capacity for the TV show and will join Mazin in the writers room along with Alexandra Cheng. Mazin will write all episodes of Season 3, but James and Cheng may be credited as co-writers on some episodes.
“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,”
Mazin said in a statement to The Ankler. “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.”
Some are hoping that this means that Neil Druckmann is shifting focus to The Last of Us Part 3, a game that Naughty Dog swears it isn’t working on right now. Of course, Intergalactic is its primary focus, but there is a secret second game in the works at Naughty Dog. Some believe it’s a new Uncharted, but we’ll just have to wait and see. Either way, maybe this will free Druckmann up to finally put pen to paper on a story for The Last of Us 3.
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