Key Player in ‘The Last of Us’ Exits Series Ahead of Season 3

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The Last of Us is a show that doesn’t hold back on pulling punches, and it just delivered one of its mostshocking blows ahead of its third season.

As Variety reports, the series’ co-creator Neil Druckmann has shocked fans—and much of Hollywood—by announcing that he’ll be stepping back from his role as part of the HBO series’ braintrust ahead of the already highly anticipated third season.

Related: ‘The Last of Us’ Fans Noticed a ‘Game of Thrones’ Easter Egg in the Season 2 Finale

Druckmann posted a statement on the official Instagram of his company Naughty Dog, a video game company that created the games upon which the Emmy-winning series is based. Per Druckmann’s statement:

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“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 onseason 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.”

“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight,” Druckmann continued. “It’s been an honor to work alongsideCraig 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.”

In addition to his roles on the television adaptation, Druckmann is also the co-creator of the video game series, via Naughty Dog, so will maintain his executive producer credit on the series.

Mazin, meanwhile, had nothing but praise for his creative partner in the television adaptation.

Related: No, The Last of Us Showrunner Did Not Call Season 2 'A Failure'

“It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO,” Mazin said in his own statement. “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.”

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Given the tragic events of The Last of Us Season 2, it’s sort of anyone’s guess just how much we’ll see of the characters viewers have come to love, likeBella Ramsey’s Ellie. In late May, Ramsey confirmed that she will indeed be returning for Season 3, but it’s expected to be in a diminished capacity.

“I think that I’m going to be there, but not a whole bunch,” Ramsey told Variety. “We’ve had conversations about that. I sort of have a rough idea of what it’s going to be, but I can’t tell you.”

Kaitlyn Dever’s Abby will take over as the show’s main character for season 3.

Key Player in ‘The Last of Us’ Exits Series Ahead of Season 3 first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 2, 2025