Neil Druckmann, the studio head of The Last of Us developer Naughty Dog, has announced he's stepping down on his leadership role in the game's HBO adaptation. Instead, he's pointing his "complete focus" toward Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and other video game projects.
This leaves Craig Mazin as The Last of Us TV show's sole showrunner. Mazin told GamesRadar+ in April that he hadn't begun writing The Last of Us season 3, suggesting the next season of the show will play out entirely without Druckmann's input.
"I've made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO," Druckmann said in a message shared to social media. "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-running a popular HBO show and directing a AAA video game feels like kinds of things that are difficult to do all at once, though the news is sure to cause speculation given the somewhat tepid response to the recent second season of the show. Details on The Last of Us season 3 are sparse, but the show is expected to run for at least two more seasons.
"Co-creating the show has been a career highlight," Druckmann concluded. "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."
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