The season 2 finale of HBO’s The Last of Us aired and streamed over a month ago. Normally, unless something major happens, it takes a while before any big news about the project's next season comes up. Sadly, that's the case here as a major creative development has just been announced.
As confirmed by Deadline, The Last of Us video game and co-creator Neil Druckmann is stepping away from the HBO program to focus on Naughty Dog games. In a heartfelt quote, he said:
“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."
The most important thing to note is Druckmann’s self-awareness here. Many people have waited well into a project to make a decision that will drastically affect a show, but not a creator like Neil Druckmann. Although he helped build The Last of Us, he chose to step away before the ball got rolling on the third season, allowing him to focus on other projects, but also allowing the show's actual production to proceed unaffected due to his early departure between seasons.
Season 3 is a critical point in The Last of Us’ story. This is where viewers will see Abby for who she really is and what’s going on with the Washington Liberation Front (or WLF). What’s even more important is how the project will continue to show how love can be both a gift and a curse (something The Last of Us Podcast frequently brings up). Taking that into account, it's a wise creative move that Druckmann exit ahead of production beginning as any other time would have risked disrupting the creative flow.
Should fans worry about Neil Druckmann's exit from The Last of Us?
As we mentioned earlier, Neil Druckmann is one of the creators of the franchise, and he put in a lot of work into getting the show greenlit. During the production of seasons 1 and 2, he mentioned how hands-on he is, but also that he’s learned to step back and go with the ideas other writers may have. But, without his firsthand knowledge, should fans of the source material be worried? Yes and no.
On one hand, during the official podcast for HBO’s The Last of Us, Druckmann has stated that the TV show writers, producers, and directors have had better ideas than some of what happened in the game. He’s also mentioned happy accidents that have led to good parts of the show. That proves he’s open to change. That said, how much change is too much?
As a fan of the game, there are head-scratching moments throughout the show. However, what works in the game doesn’t necessarily work in a different medium and it's important to make changes to adapt to those mediums and tell different stories. Sam being deaf in season 1 was a major step forward for representation while stylistic differences, like having a cordyceps fight, and making Abby smaller than her video game counterpart all added to the story. It makes sense for people unfamiliar with the video game. The gamers make up a small percentage of viewers, and while you want to keep them watching, it’s impossible to make them all happy.
Thankfully, writer and showrunner Craig Mazin is a fan of The Last of Us video game and is amazing at his job. Neil Druckmann’s influence will be missed on the show and the podcast, but the project is in good hands. The good news is that, although he has exited the show as part of its creative team, he will still remain on as co-creator and executive producer.
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