The Last of Us season 3 confirmed to have major creative shake-up behind the scenes – where does this leave new episodes?

Druckmann released a statement on the official Instagram account for Naughty Dog (the PlayStation-owned video game studio behind The Last of Us franchise), which read: “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 continued: “Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honour 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.”

Druckmann co-created and directed the original Naughty Dog video game, but has been an integral part of the behind-the-scenes team in bringing the game to life for TV. According to Deadline, he will not write or direct any season 3 episodes but will continue to serve as co-creator and executive producer on the series.

As for where that leaves the creative direction of the HBO series, it's anybody's guess at the moment. With a dedicated behind-the-scenes team that are passionate about sticking true to the game but leaving enough room for the ways in which the TV show could evolve and stray from the original plot line, we're sure the series will continue to live up to its potential.

Some fans have criticised the way in which season 2 was handled, not least due to the early season 2 death of Pedro Pascal's Joel. The Last of Us Part II game focus being on Abby proved controversial at the time of its release and will undoubtedly follow suit for the series, so it remains to be seen how that will be handled in light of Druckmann's exit.

Fans have flocked to social media ideating about the direction of season 3, with plenty commenting on Druckmann's statement saying that they feel as though season 3 is now "doomed". Druckmann worked alongside Craig Mazin to ensure that the game was appropriately brought to life for TV and so, naturally, many fans are beginning to wonder whether it will retain that same game DNA.

On the announcement of Druckmann's creative step back on the series, Mazin said in a statement: “It’s been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. 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.”

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Druckmann's departure isn't the only one, though, with executive producer and writer Halley Gross also exiting the show. Gross co-wrote The Last of Us Part II game with Druckmann and seeing as season 3 of the HBO show will be continuing on the story of the second game, many fans are now understandably thinking about just how the series will flesh out that story.

In her own statement posted to her Instagram, Gross wrote:“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.

“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.”

With Mazin having already expressed interest in wanting to continue the HBO series for a total of four seasons, the potential of The Last of Us series is definitely vast – but we'll just have to wait and see how things will unfold without the original game's Druckmann and Gross at its helm.

The Last of Us season 2 is streaming on Sky Atlantic and NOW with an Entertainment Membership.

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