By After season 2 wrapped, Neil Druckmann stepped away from HBO Max’s television take on The Last of Us, handing the reins as sole showrunner to collaborator Craig Mazin for the upcoming third season. In a new chat with Variety, he spelled out why he chose to exit and refocus purely on steering Naughty Dog—the studio that birthed the original game saga.
“We were on the verge of launching the writers’ room for Season 3,” he notes. “I surveyed everything ahead—what that season might entail—and, between assorted Last of Us duties plus several game projects, the gigantic time-sink is Intergalactic: The Heretic Profit, our forthcoming marquee IP for Naughty Dog and PlayStation. Overseeing from a broader perch seemed the smarter way to juggle it all.”
Intergalactic: The Heretic Profit is a third-person science-fiction odyssey casting gamers as an interstellar bounty hunter. Full mechanics remain under wraps and no street date has surfaced, yet Naughty Dog is already hyping it as its next blockbuster. This pivot toward the fresh property prompted Druckmann to rethink juggling co-showrunner chores on HBO Max‘s The Last of Us.
“Balancing co-showrunning on Seasons 1 and 2 with studio leadership plus scripting and directing a game proved brutally taxing,” he adds. “I was grateful for the Naughty Dog teammates who covered for me during Season 2—especially on Episode 206, which I prepped, scripted, and helmed. Repeating that intensity felt unlikely, so as publicity wrapped and Season 3 pre-production revved up, it felt like the right checkpoint to re-evaluate.”
The Last of Us season 3 is penciled in for 2027. Viewers still have plenty to anticipate: Craig Mazin vows the next run will out-length season 2.