huffingtonpost - 8 days ago

Bella Ramsey and Pedro Pascal in the most recent season of The Last Of UsThe Last Of Us is set to undergo a major shake-up ahead of its upcoming third season, as co-creator Neil Druckmann has stepped back creatively from the show.Neil has announced his departure as co-showrunner, but will continue in his role as executive producer heading into the third instalment of the post-apocalyptic drama.“I’ve made the difficult decision to step away from my creative involvement in The Last Of Us,” Neil wrote in a statement posted to his production company Naughty Dog’s Instagram page on Wednesday.He explained that he felt now is the “right time for me to transition” to completely focus on future Naughty Dog projects, including the upcoming PlayStation 5 video game Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet.Neil added that co-creating the show had been a “career highlight”, adding: “It’s been an honor to work alongside Craig Mazin to executive produce, direct and write on the last two seasons. 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.”View this post on InstagramA post shared by Naughty Dog (@naughty_dog_inc)That isn’t the only blow for the upcoming new season, though.Along with Neil, executive producer and writer Halley Gross – who co-wrote The Last Of Us Part II video game, as well as working several episodes of season two – has announced she will also be stepping back from her “day-to-day” duties “to make space for what comes next”.“Working alongside Neil, Craig, HBO and this remarkable cast and crew has been life changing,” she wrote in her own social media post. “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.”Halley concluded that she has some “truly rad projects ahead that I can’t wait to share, but for now, I wanted to express my gratitude to everyone who brought Ellie and Joel’s world to life with such care”.View this post on InstagramA post shared by Halley Gross (@grosstastic)The second season of The Last Of Us began airing back in April of this year, introducing Kaitlyn Dever as Abby, alongside Bella Ramsey’s Ellie and Pedro Pascal’s Joel.In his own statement (reported by Deadline), showrunner Craig said it had been “a creative dream to work with Neil and bring an adaptation of his brilliant work to life”, adding that he “couldn’t have asked for a more generous creative partner”.He added: “As a true fan of Naughty Dog and Neil’s work in video games, I’m beyond excited to play his next game. While he focuses on that, I’ll continue to work with our brilliant cast and crew to deliver the show our audience has come to expect. “We are so grateful to Neil and Halley Gross for entrusting the incredible story of The Last of Us Part II to us, and we’re just as grateful to the millions of people around the world who tune in.”The hugely popular US show is set in a post-apocalyptic world after a Cordyceps fungus causes a zombie-like outbreak.In the aftermath, we follow survivor Joel as he’s tasked with smuggling immune teenager Ellie to a rebel militia.After Joel’s shocking death in early season two the finale ended on a huge cliffhanger, leading fans to believe that the third season will revisit the same events through Abby’s perspective, just like the game.Showrunner Craig has previously revealed that he’s even started thinking about plans for a potential season four.READ MORE:The Last Of Us Creators Weigh In On That Gripping Season 2 Finale Cliffhanger EndingThe Last Of Us Star Names 1 Part Of Season 2 Sex Scene That Was Actually Her IdeaJennifer Aniston Was As Surprised As We Were By Her Appearance In The Last Of Us

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