Neil Druckmann's Exit From 'The Last of Us' Sounds Bad, but It Might Save the Future of the Show

When it was announced that The Last of Us would receive an adaptation as an HBO series, one of the details that gave fans of the game hope was that writer and creative director of the game, Neil Druckmann, would be involved, working alongside Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin. Even back when The Last of Us was going to be adapted as a movie, Druckmann was always at the center of bringing this story to a new medium. For a narrative as beloved as this, it almost felt necessary that he was central to its telling in all forms.

However, after its divisive second season, Druckmann has announced today that he is stepping away from his involvement with The Last of Us on HBO in order to focus on being the Studio Head and Head of Creative for Naughty Dog — the video game company that brought us The Last of Us in the first place. While it’s sad that Druckmann won’t be as involved moving forward, his absence just might be what the show, and the future of The Last of Us, actually needs.

Where Does Neil Druckmann’s Absence Leave HBO's 'The Last of Us'?

As a huge fan of The Last of Us game franchise, I feel an odd sense of protection around how this story is told, and yet, while other people have complained about how the show has shifted and changed things, I personally have admired the freedom it has had to try out new ways to tell its story. I understand that this is a game so many people love — myself included — but I also don’t necessarily want the same story told in just a different medium. I understand the criticisms, but I love what Mazin has done with this story, which he clearly loves as well. And as fans of The Last of Us Official Podcast know, Mazin is always asking about different paths these characters could take, what new avenues the series could explore, and how the show's writers can take a good story and make it better.

Again, an adaptation should take chances and try new things with its source material, and that’s exactly what Mazin has done in the first two seasons of The Last of Us. As the writer or co-writer of almost every episode, he’s already largely been the primary voice in bringing this story to life. Without Mazin, we wouldn’t have the absolutely beautiful “Long, Long Time,” which veered from the story we knew (and earned Mazin an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series), or the fascinating ways Season 2 expanded the town of Jackson to give us a deeper look at this safe haven. In taking on this show, Mazin has been asking questions and expanding this world to tell the story of The Last of Us in a unique way, and frankly, more adaptations should be doing that, even if the end result might be a bit difficult for fans to handle.

Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross Still Have a Huge Impact on 'The Last of Us' Season 3

While the involvement of Druckmann and game co-writer Halley Gross (who also announced she won’t be returning to work on The Last of Us Season 3) has certainly been integral to the show’s success, in many ways, their work will still absolutely be seen in Season 3. On the aforementioned podcast, Mazin and Druckmann talked about how essential it was to figure out the skeleton of Season 3 while working on Season 2, since the two stories interweave and connect throughout. Even though Druckmann said in his statement this morning that he’s leaving “before any meaningful work starts on Season 3,” the core of what's to come is something that he’s likely had quite a bit of input on through working on Season 2. Not to mention that Druckmann and Gross have completely laid the groundwork for this story in writing The Last of Us Part II, which, to a very large extent, the show has followed quite closely.

As for Druckmann's individual contributions to the show, they all have something in common. In the first season, Druckmann directed “Infected,” an episode with set pieces largely taken directly from the game. He also wrote “Left Behind,” which was also one of the most straightforward adaptations of the game’s material. In Season 2, Druckmann co-wrote the last two episodes with Mazin and Gross — “The Price” and “Convergence” — as well as directed the former. While “The Price” might very well be the best episode of the series, it’s, again, mostly scenes from the game, collected together into a different format from The Last of Us Part II. Yes, the scenes in the game work beautifully, but it’s the way that episode changes things that also hit hard, from the introduction of Joel and Tommy’s father, played by Tony Dalton, to finally getting to meet Eugene (Joe Pantoliano) and how his death impacts Gail (Catherine O’Hara), or even the way that the iconic porch scene between Joel (Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (Bella Ramsey) shifts in tremendous ways to make the impact even more significant.

If anything, “The Price” proves what Druckmann and Gross have done for this show, but it’s important to allow the show to change in ways that can also find these moments. While it’s great that Druckmann and Gross have been completely open to this type of exploration, it’ll also be exciting to see what Mazin continues to do in fleshing out this world, and with concepts that he’s already likely discussed with Druckmann and Gross in some capacity.

Naughty Dog Also Needs Neil Druckmann Right Now

But maybe the most important and exciting thing about Druckmann and Gross not working on HBO's The Last of Us is the potential for other projects. In his announcement, Druckmann says, “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 new game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet,” which was first announced six months ago. Naughty Dog hasn’t released an original game since The Last of Us Part II in 2020, and despite putting out remastered versions of games in the Uncharted and Last of Us franchises, this is the longest gap without an original game in the company’s history. Even though Intergalactic started development in 2020, we still don’t have a release date, and many are assuming that it will be released in 2027 at the earliest.

Yet, as the documentary Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II has shown, and the fact that Intergalactic started development the same year The Last of Us Part II was released, Naughty Dog likes to at least get started on what’s next while working on their current project. The studio hasn’t said what they’re working on after Intergalactic, but the fact that Druckmann and Gross are leaving The Last of Us show at the same time leads to the theory that The Last of Us Part III could be in the works.

'The Last of Us Part III' Might Not Happen, but It Seems More Likely Now

There’s been a lot of back and forth about whether The Last of Us Part III is happening, with Druckmann teasing and avoiding giving away any plans. In Grounded II, Druckmann said that there’s “probably one more chapter to this story,” and he’s since hinted that what he meant was a smaller story centered around Tommy. What's more telling is Mazin's response via an interview with The Hollywood Reporter: “I am not going to go past the game. I’ll just say that flat out.” Without spoiling the ending of Part II, it does end on an open-ended note, and quite frankly, it might not be the best note to end an HBO series on.

However, let’s just say that The Last of Us Season 3 airs in 2027, which seems to be the case. By then, hopefully Intergalactic will also be in the process of coming out, or already out (fingers crossed). Considering that Mazin won’t go beyond the games, Druckmann and Gross, and their potential decision to continue this story, hold all the cards for the future of the HBO series. With that in mind, it’s entirely possible that Druckmann and Gross could work on Part III of the game, and this could in some way be developed alongside Mazin’s work on any potential future seasons of the show. Since Mazin has even said that this story can’t be completed by the end of the third season, it seems more than possible that The Last of Us Part III could be released by the time a possible Season 4 of The Last of Us airs. Quite simply, it would be nearly impossible for The Last of Us to continue as a game or as a series without Druckmann and Gross stepping away from the show. Whether or not that’s their plan or not, we’ll see, but it would make perfect sense.

Of course, this is all speculation at this point, but what we do know is that Mazin will continue to be the showrunner for The Last of Us, Druckmann has decided to narrow his focus to the projects Naughty Dog is working on, and Gross is off to work on compelling projects — which may or may not be with Naughty Dog. But that all should be exciting for fans of what Naughty Dog has created. Mazin gets the chance to further explore and dissect The Last of Us' world while telling a new version of this story, while Druckmann will continue to make incredible games with his studio. What matters most is that we’re still going to get new projects from these three creatives, and the potential for those stories is truly exciting.