The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann reveals how he will be involved in Season 3 of the HBO show

As the second season of The Last of Us arrives at the latest Emmys ceremony, Neil Druckmann opens up about the show's success and his involvement in its third season.

Druckmann is the co-creator behind the post-apocalyptic video game from Naughty Dog, which HBO later turned into a series starring Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey. He also served as the showrunner on this adaptation, alongside the Chernobyl creator Craig Mazin, for its first season. However, he recently announced his exit from working on the new season.

Without Druckman at the helm, the show will soon enter its third season. It may have led fans to be skeptical about the show's future. While not actively working on the show as before, Druckman still has high hopes for its new season. In a recent interview with Variety, he revealed what his contribution would look like in the show's third season.

"My hope for Season 3, and what I’d like to I think I can best contribute to it, is to make sure it’s as deeply faithful as Season 1 was. Because I feel like that is the gold standard for this kind of adaptation, while enjoying all these beautiful expansions that happen naturally with the rest of the team and how they’re working on Season 3. So that is where my involvement will stay is at that very, very high level."

The Last of Us co-creator also addressed why he left the show before its third season

The Last of Us may have been the brainchild of Neil Druckmann, but after working on two seasons of its adaptation, he will not be involved in the show's creative process. He is also the head of the creative team at the Naughty Dog video game studio, which introduced the dystopian world of this franchise. So, he plans to head back there to work on his new game.

Despite his departure from the show, Druckman has a few ideas about what he wants from the show's third season in the Variety interview. He also spoke about the reason he left the show, citing the complicated schedule of heralding multiple projects as the reason. Looking back at his experience on this show, he said,

"It was quite challenging to be as involved as a co-showrunner on Season 1 and Season 2, while running a studio and working and directing and writing a game. I really appreciated at Naughty Dog how many people stepped up while I was gone working on Season 2."

Druckmann also spoke about an episode he directed in The Last of Us, which has been one of the highlights of the second season. He revealed how it also affected his decision about the show's new season. He said,

"Specifically, I spent quite a bit of effort on Episode 206 — prepping it, writing it, [and] directing it. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to do that again. So I felt it around that period when we’re wrapping up all the press and really about to get started with earnest in Season 3, that was a good time to reassess everything."

Although the third season has been greenlit by HBO, it's unclear when it will see the light of day.

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Also read: "Definitely planned for 2027": The Last of Us Season 3 release gets promising update from HBO Max

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