Neil Druckmann departed HBO Max's adaptation of The Last of Us following the end of season 2, leaving his co-showrunner Craig Mazin in charge of The Last of Us season 3. Now, in an interview with Variety, Druckman has explained the reasons for his departure and his return to focusing solely on running Naughty Dog, the developer that initially produced The Last of Us game series.
"It was right when we were about to start the writers' room for Season 3," Druckmann explains. "I looked at what's in front of me, what would the next season might look like, and with all the various Last of Us things I'm working on - not just the show - with all the various games I'm working on, the biggest one that takes up most of my time is Intergalactic: The Heretic Profit, our next big IP for Naughty Dog and PlayStation, it felt like I could better serve all of my responsibilities if I stayed at a higher level."
