HBO's The Last of Us adaptation will wrap up after its third season instead of extending into a previously discussed fourth season, according to Neil Druckmann, the video game series' director. Druckmann departed the live-action show more than a year ago, leaving showrunner Craig Mazin in charge.
Speaking to The Washington Post, Druckmann said he was not involved in shaping the creative direction of the upcoming third season, which stars Kaitlyn Dever as Abby. "I wasn't involved in shaping this season's creative direction, and Naughty Dog did not have a creative role in the direction of this season," Druckmann said, adding that he therefore "can't personally speak to how production is progressing."
Druckmann left the show after season two to focus on directing Naughty Dog's upcoming sci-fi action game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, citing that project as a key reason for his exit.
Despite stepping away from the HBO series, Druckmann indicated that Naughty Dog isn't finished with The Last of Us as a franchise. "It's important for us to note that as the creator of the games, Naughty Dog is still steward of this IP and even though this might be the end of this adaptation, we're not done with The Last of Us," he said. He added, "There's a couple projects in the works that, when the time is right, I'm very excited to talk about."
Druckmann did not specify what form these future projects might take — whether a new video game, a different kind of adaptation, or other creative endeavors set in the post-apocalyptic world. A separate IGN article referencing the same news carried a similar framing — that Naughty Dog is "not done" with The Last of Us despite not being involved in the HBO show's third season — though its full content was not accessible for further detail.