‘The Last of Us’ Shakeup: Co-Creator Neil Druckmann Exits Ahead of Season 3

There’s a major change happening behind the scenes of HBO’s hit show “The Last of Us.” Neil Druckmann, who co-created the series and served as a writer and director alongside showrunner Craig Mazin, is stepping away from the show. This leaves Mazin as the only showrunner moving into the third season.

Druckmann, known for his work at Naughty Dog, is leaving the show to focus entirely on his next big project with the game studio. In a statement, he explained, “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.”

He also praised the team and cast involved in the series, saying, “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. I look forward to HBO and PlayStation Productions continuing Ellie and Abby’s story next season.”

Craig Mazin also shared his thoughts on the change. He said, “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.”

This news was first reported by The Ankler. It comes after a second season that divided fans a bit and saw a slight drop in ratings compared to the first season. The second season was heavily based on the game “The Last of Us Part Two,” which also didn’t sell as well as the original game.

While Druckmann steps away from day-to-day involvement, he will still keep his credit as co-creator and executive producer on the show. Fans will have to wait and see how this shift affects the future of “The Last of Us” as it heads into its third season. More updates are expected as the show continues to develop.

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