It’s somehow been over a year since Season 2 of HBO’s The Last Of Us aired its final episodes, leaving those who haven’t played the games with a big cliffhanger. While the continued story of Ellie and Abby looks set to head our way next year in the show’s third season, fans were taken by surprise when Neil Druckmann announced that he would be stepping back from working on the show to focus on his priorities at Naughty Dog, most notably their new game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.
Now, in an interview with The Washington Post, Druckmann has confirmed that not only has he stepped back, but Naughty Dog itself is not involved in Season 3. “I wasn’t involved in shaping this season’s creative direction, and Naughty Dog did not have a creative role in the direction of this season,” he said. This also includes The Last of Us Part II co-writer Hayley Gross, who stepped away from the project alongside Druckmann.
Those who have played the games know the story takes a slightly different direction in its second half. Given how tonally delicate it is, we’re hoping it’s safe in Craig Mazin’s careful hands after he delivered two great seasons alongside his Emmy-winning work on Chernobyl.
The good news is, we probably haven’t seen the last of The Last Of Us in the gaming world. After a cancelled online project, it’s all been very quiet on whether players will end up avoiding Clickers again. But Druckmann has confirmed we haven’t seen the last of them. “We’re not done with The Last Of Us,” he stated. “There’s a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I’m very excited to talk about.” What this could be, we don’t know. A Part 3? A spin-off? Who wouldn’t want to see the return of the criminally-underrated ‘Grounded’ online mode?
It shouldn’t be too long until we get more The Last Of Us, with the third season expected to conclude the television adaptation of the two games, scheduled to arrive in 2027. And if we hear so much as a click about any more game news, you’ll hear from us.
