It’s impossible to talk about The Last of Us, show or games, without talking about developer Naughty Dog. The two are obviously tight-knit, but when the HBO show returns next year, it’ll be the first to not have the studio’s input, something the games’ director Neil Druckmann wants folks to understand.
While speaking to the Washington Post, Druckmann was asked about the adaptation he helped bring to life. He was the co-creator and co-showrunner alongside Craig Mazin, then announced his leave from the show in 2025. To the Post, he reiterated that he and Naughty Dog “[weren’t] involved in or had a role in shaping this season’s creative direction.” We already knew Druckmann and the studio are working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which he’s co-directing and co-writing, so this makes sense.
Druckmann didn’t just leave things there, however: he teased “a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I’m very excited to talk about. As the creator of the games, Naughty Dog is still the steward of the IP. This might be the end of this adaptation, we’re not done with The Last of Us.” It was a given that a third game was in the works, and it’s something Druckmann has previously hinted at. But the mention of multiple projects is surprising, given the studio previously backed off that kind of expansion when it canceled its multiplayer project.
But considering how popular the show made the games and vice-versa, this not too surprising—a new console generation looming gives Naughty Dog a new means to make its flagship franchise popular again. And after The Last of Us returns with season 3 in 2027, fans will feel the need for a new single-player entry instead of replaying Part II again.
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