In the wake of the controversially received second season of HBO’s Last of Us TV series, series co-creator and executive producer Neill Druckmann has announced that he is stepping away ahead of production on season three.
In a statement posted to Naughty Dog’s social media accounts today, Druckmann said his move comes “before any meaningful work” had begun on a third season of The Last of Us, set to continue adapting the remaining events of The Last of Us Part II. Druckmann will return his focus to working on Naughty Dog’s own upcoming gaming projects, including the sci-fi game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, announced late last year.
— Naughty Dog (@Naughty_Dog) July 2, 2025
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight,” Druckmann’s statement reads in part. “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.”
Season one of the HBO series was met with near-universal critical acclaim when it debuted in 2023, but season two faced a rougher road—perhaps almost inevitably considering it dug into adapting the events of Part II, a sequel that had received its own fair share of controversies when it first launched in 2020. Some of the backlashes were mirrored with the release of the HBO show, like the reaction to the shock exit of Pedro Pascal’s Joel, but the season also faced criticism for its approach to adapting the game’s events in the context of the game’s own controversial reception at launch, questioning whether something was lost in exchanging the game’s ambiguity in storytelling for an attempt at a more clear-cut version of the narrative.
HBO’s Last of Us adaptation was initially anticipated to run three seasons long, splitting its adaptation of The Last of Us Part II across two seasons. But earlier this year, showrunner Craig Mazin suggested that instead “the most likely outcome” will be that the series continues for a fourth season.
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