WARNING: This article contains spoilers for The Last Of Us Season 2
Just when we thought HBO's The Last Of Us had finished breaking our collective hearts for another year with Season 2, today has brought with it news of another unexpected, premature department from the franchise — and this one is, in its way, just as shocking as Joel's. Per Deadline's reporting, Neil Druckmann — creator of The Last Of Us video games and co-creator/co-writer alongside Craig Mazin on the first two seasons of HBO's show — is stepping back from the critically acclaimed series ahead of Season 3 before work begins on the post-apocalyptic show's return. And the Naughty Dog studio head took to his own socials earlier this evening to explain why — as you can see below;
Citing his work on Naughty Dog's upcoming sci-fi epic Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet and professional responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative at Naughty Dog as reasons for his departure from the HBO series' fold, Druckmann reflected on co-creating the show as "a career highlight", describing it as "an honour" to have worked alongside Mazin on bringing the story of survivors Joel and Ellie from game to TV. And it's not just Druckmann — who has five individual writing credits and two directorial outings on the show under his belt — who has left The Last Of Us either: Halley Gross, The Last Of Us Part II and Season 2 finale co-writer, has also decided to bow out in order to pursue her own projects, penning her own heartfelt message to fans of the game and show on Instagram.
It's a sizeable blow for the HBO series to lose two key members of its creative team, especially as Season 3 looks set to see Bella Ramsey's Ellie step back from the limelight as Kaitlyn Dever's Abby take centre stage — a bold creative swing given the revelations of Season 2. In his own statement responding to Druckmann and Gross' departures, now-sole showrunner Craig Mazin paid tribute to his colleagues while reaffirming his commitment to seeing his adaptation through, though. “It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO," writes Mazin. "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. We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of The Last of Us Part II to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.”
How this shock creative shake-up will affect The Last Of Us Season 3 very much remains to be seen at this point — as does whether it may have any bearing on a potential fourth and final season of the current jewel in HBO's televisual crown. But, even without Druckmann and Gross' direct involvement, we know from Chernobyl that Mazin has more than got the juice to see this one through. And just remember folks, "When you're lost in the darkness, look for the light." Roll on Season 3!