Home
Games
Games News
Naughty Dog Head Neil Druckmann to Step Away From HBO's The Last of Us TV Show to Focus on Games

Naughty Dog Head Neil Druckmann to Step Away From HBO's The Last of Us TV Show to Focus on Games

Neil Druckmann served as executive producer and co-writer on the first two seasons of The Last of Us.

Written by Manas Mitul | Updated: 3 July 2025 15:46 IST

Naughty Dog Head Neil Druckmann to Step Away From HBO's The Last of Us TV Show to Focus on Games

Photo Credit: Sony/ Naughty Dog

Naughty Dog's next game is Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet

Click Here to Add Gadgets360 As A Trusted Source

Highlights

Neil Druckmann helmed the first two seasons alongside Craig Mazin
Writer Haley Gross is also stepping away from the show
The Last of Us was renewed for a third season in April

Naughty Dog head Neil Druckmann is stepping away from creative duties at The Last of Us series on HBO to focus on the studio's future projects. Druckmann, who helmed the first two seasons of the show alongside Craig Mazin, will transition to working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet full-time and fulfilling his responsibilities as studio head. The second season of The Last of Us premiered in April and wrapped up its seven-episode run in May.

Neil Druckmann Departs The Last of Us Season 3

In a statement shared on X via Naughty Dog, Druckmann said he was stepping away from creative involvement with HBO's The Last of Us, confirming he won't be returning to work on the third season of the popular show. Druckmann, who has executive producing, writing and directing credits on the first two seasons of the show, said the decision to step away was “difficult”.

“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 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 said in the statement.

Microsoft Cancels Perfect Dark, Shuts Down Developer in Widespread Xbox Cuts

“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 I and the continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II.”

In tandem with Druckmann's decision, Haley Gross, who co-wrote The Last of Us Part 2 and served as a writer on the second season of the show, also confirmed she was taking a step back from her duties on the latter. In a statement posted to Instagram Wednesday, Gross said she was moving on to “what comes next”.

“With great care and consideration, I've decided to take a step back from my day-to-day work on HBO's The Last of Us to make space for what comes next,” Gross said in the statement. “I'm so appreciative of how special this experience has been. Working alongside Neil, Craig, HBO, and this remarkable cast and crew has been life changing. The stories we told – about love, loss, and what it means to be human in a terrifying world – are exactly why I love this franchise. I have some truly rad projects ahead that I can't wait to share, but for now, I want to express my gratitude to everyone who brought Ellie and Joel's world to life with such care.”

Red Dead Online Gets Surprise Update That Adds Four New Telegram Missions

HBO's The Last of Us has been renewed for a third season, which will be based on the second half of The Last of Us Part 2, with the primary focus on Abby (played by Kaitlyn Dever), who served as the main antagonist in the second season. The show stars Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey in the lead roles of Joel and Ellie, respectively.

Naughty Dog is currently working on its next game, Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, which was announced at The Game Awards 2024.

The Last of Us Season 2

Release Date 14 April 2025
Genre Action, Drama, Thriller
Cast
Pedro Pascal, Bella Ramsey, Gabriel Luna, Catherine O'Hara, Kaitlyn Dever
Director
Mark Mylod, Neil Druckmann, Peter Hoar, Craig Mazin, Kate Herron, Nina Lopez-Corrado, Stephen Williams

Comments

For the latest tech news and reviews, follow Gadgets 360 on X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Threads and Google News. For the latest videos on gadgets and tech, subscribe to our YouTube channel. If you want to know everything about top influencers, follow our in-house Who'sThat360 on Instagram and YouTube.

Further reading: Naughty Dog, Neil Druckmann, The Last of Us, the last of us season 2, The Last of Us Part 2, Intergalactic The Heretic Prophet

Manas Mitul

Email Manas Mitul

In his time as a journalist, Manas Mitul has written on a wide spectrum of beats including politics, culture and sports. He enjoys reading, walking around in museums and rewatching films. Talk to Manas about football and tennis, but maybe don’t bring up his video game backlog. More