The Last of Us’ spoilers follow.
The Last of Us co-creator Neil Druckmann has stepped down from his co-showrunner role ahead of season 3 — and the show has lost co-executive producer Halley Gross, too.
Druckmann will continue being an executive producer and carry a co-creator credit on the post-apocalyptic show, though his decision leaves Craig Mazin the sole showrunner going into the new instalment.
“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last of Us on HBO,” Druckmann said in a statement shared on Instagram today.
“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.”
Druckmann is the head of Naughty Dog, the video game company which launched the Last of Us franchise.
“Co-creating the show has been a career highlight. It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons,” Druckmann continued.
“I’m deeply thankful of the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew took to adapting The Last of Us Part I and their continued adaptation of The Last of Us Part II. I look forward to HBO and PlayStation Productions continuing Ellie and Abby’s story next season.”
In another blow, co-executive producer and writer Gross announced at the same time that she’s stepping back from her “day-to-day work” on the show.
“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,” she wrote on Instagram, in part. “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.”
The popular series aired its second season earlier this year, following the events of the second game. After Abby (Kaitlyn Dever) kills Joel (Pedro Pascal) to avenge her father, Ellie (Bella Ramsey) sets off on her own revenge mission to find her archenemy.
Season 2 ended on a cliffhanger after Abby pointed a gun at Ellie, then cut to three days earlier to tell the story from Abby’s point of view.
Source: digitalspy.com