Neil Druckmann is stepping away from The Last of Us TV show to ‘transition complete focus’ on game development
Druckmann says “now is the right time” for him to fully focus on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet
Naughty Dog boss Neil Druckmann is stepping away from his creative involvement in HBO’s The Last of Us show, so he can fully focus on Naughty Dog’s upcoming projects.
Druckmann has been closely involved in the production of the successful HBO series, which stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” Druckmann said in a statement.
“With work completed on Season 2, and before any meaningful work starts on Season 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.”
He added: “Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. 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 1 and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part 2.”
Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet was announced during The Game Awards in 2024. The game features a sci-fi setting, and its debut trailer includes a Porsche spaceship. Its soundtrack is being composed by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
“Intergalactic stars our newest protagonist, Jordan A. Mun, a dangerous bounty hunter who ends up stranded on Sempiria – a distant planet whose communication with the outside universe went dark hundreds of years ago,” reads a synopsis for the game.
Druckmann said last year that numerous games, including “multiple single-player projects”, were in development at Naughty Dog, but stressed that while they won’t all be The Last of Us titles, they will have a similar goal.
“We create experiences that are steeped in story and character, especially relationships,” he told the LA Times. “The stories have some sort of philosophical core that everything is going to revolve around and feed into.”
