It’s the last of “The Last of Us” with video game creator Neil Druckmann. The TV series co-creator announced that he will no longer be part of the HBO show ahead of its third season.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in ‘The Last of Us’ on HBO,” Druckmann wrote in a statement shared on the official Naughty Dog Instagram account. “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.”
Druckmann continued, “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.”
Craig Mazin, who co-created the HBO series with Druckmann, thanked his collaborator for the two seasons.
“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO,” Mazin said in a statement. “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.”
“The Last of Us” was renewed for Season 3 in April 2025, with the third installment centering on Kaitlyn Dever’s character Abby, as game Part II does.
Druckmann co-wrote the video game with Halley Gross, who was a former TV writer on “Westworld.”
Druckmann previously told IndieWire that his collaboration with Mazin was key to bringing “The Last of Us” to the screen, saying, “You must find someone that loves it as much as you do. That was Craig Mazin. Bringing [Mazin and the show] to a place like HBO that respects story, respects creators, it gives us the resources to have these ambitions, especially this season with what we’re doing on this insane rollercoaster ride. That’s the way to do it right.”
Mazin formerly confirmed that Season 3 will be “significantly larger” in scope. The co-showrunners were planning for at least four seasons, as Mazin told Deadline in 2024.