By News18
Los Angeles, Jul 3 (PTI) Neil Druckmann, the co-creator and co-showrunner of the critically-acclaimed HBO series 鈥淭he Last Of Us鈥, has decided to take a step back from the show鈥檚 upcoming third season.
鈥淭he Last Of Us鈥, which features Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsay, is based on the video game franchise of the same name, which was created by Druckmann and produced by Naughty Dog. He served as the creator, showrunner, writer and director alongside Craig Mazin.
Druckmann announced his exit from the series in a statement posted on the official Instagram account of Naughty Dog.
鈥淚鈥檝e made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in 鈥楾he Last of Us鈥 on HBO. With work completed on season two and before any meaningful work starts on season three, 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, 鈥業ntergalactic: The Heretic Prophet鈥, along with my responsibilities as Studio Head and Head of Creative,鈥 he said.
Druckmann further said that creating 鈥淭he Last of Us鈥 series has been a 鈥渃areer highlight鈥 for him.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. I鈥檓 deeply thankful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting 鈥楾he Last of Us Part I鈥 and the continued adaptation of 鈥楾he Last of Us Part II鈥,鈥 he added.
Besides Druckmann, co-writer and executive producer Halley Gross is also exiting the series, she announced on social media.
鈥淭he Last of Us鈥 started in 2022 with its first season, which took place 20 years after modern civilization was destroyed by a deadly virus.
It featured Pascal as Joel, a hardened survivor, who is hired to smuggle Ellie (Ramsey), a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a cure-searching organization.
The second season, which came out earlier this year, picks up five years after the events of the first season, Joel and Ellie are drawn into conflict with each other and a world even more dangerous and unpredictable than the one they left behind. PTI RB SMR RB RB