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by Luca Fontana
Showrunner and creator of "The Last of Us" universe Neil Druckmann is leaving the HBO show. Author Halley Gross is also leaving the series. The departures surprise and disappoint fans of the games.
Neil Druckmann is the creator, author and director of «The Last of Us» games. He was also heavily involved in the development and production of the HBO series adaptation alongside Craig Mazin («Chernobyl»). Druckmann has now announced in an official statement from his development studio Naughty Dog that he will be stepping back from the TV series completely.
Druckmann writes: «With work on season 2 complete [...] now is the right time for me to turn my complete focus back to Naughty Dog and its future projects [...]».
Specifically, the studio head is referring to the PS5 game «Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet», which was presented for the first time at the recent Game Awards. Druckmann once again takes on the role of author and director for this one.
Further Druckmann writes: «Co-developing the series was a career highlight. It was an honour to work with Craig Mazin on both seasons [...] as executive producer, director and author. I am deeply grateful for the thoughtful approach and dedication the talented cast and crew put into adapting 'The Last of Us' [...]».
Also stepping down is the co-author of «The Last of Us Part II», Halley Gross. She was heavily involved in the story development of the second game. She was also the author and producer of the second season of the TV adaptation.
Gross writes: «With great care and much consideration, I've decided to step back from my day-to-day employees on HBO's 'The Last of Us' to make room for what's next».
What exactly the author is working on, compared to Druckmann, she doesn't want to reveal. However, the likelihood that the two will team up again for «Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet» is very high.
Many in the «The Last of Us» community are upset by this news. The second season was received very negatively by some fans of the original - in stark contrast to the universally praised first season. The changes to Ellie's character were particularly criticised. In addition, the series is too soft compared to the original material and does not convey the complex emotional revenge story satisfactorily.
Many fans suspect that the changes are mainly due to Craig Mazin, the second showrunner and co-creator of the TV adaptation. Episode six («The Price») is seen by many fans as the emotional highlight of the season. In this episode, Druckmann directed and co-wrote the script with Gross (and Mazin). The quieter Joel and Ellie episode felt like it was taken straight from the game.
In addition to the more negative fan reactions, the viewing figures are also no longer going so well. While around 5.3 million people were still watching at the beginning of the season, only 3.7 million remained for the finale - around 55 per cent less than the finale of the first season. A big factor in the decline may have been episode two, in which... you know. However, many fans are convinced that the decline also has to do with the dwindling quality of the adaptation.
Mazin himself has also spoken out at The Variety: «'It's been a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life on HBO. [...] As a true fan of Naughty Dog [...] I'm really looking forward to his next game. As he focuses on it, I will continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience expects».
In our Spoiler Factory - Digitec's spoilercast - you can hear what the editorial team has to say about the second season. You can find all the episodes here:
My love of video games was unleashed at the tender age of five by the original Gameboy. Over the years, it's grown in leaps and bounds.