Just as fans are trying to get over the heartbreak from season 2 ofThe Last of Us, the show’s co-creator revealed this week that he would bestepping away from the HBO series ahead of season 3. While this may be sad news for some fans of the series who enjoyed Neil Druckmann’s creative mind behind a lot of its episodes, others have expressed concern that this could mean the post-apocalyptic show is on a downward spiral with Craig Mazin as its sole showrunner.
Druckmann, who is the studio head of Naughty Dog studio, announced in a statement that he wouldn’t be a part of the HBO adaptation series moving forward and instead, revealed that he would be pointing his “complete focus” into the studio’s upcoming gaming title,Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet,as well as other video game projects. However, it’s not just Druckmann who has decided to jump from the HBO’sThe Last of Usboat as Halley Gross, who wrote forThe Last Of Us Part 2as well as co-writing the sixth and seventh episodes in season 2 with Druckmann and Mazin, has also decided to leave to pursue her own projects. This news hasn’t gone down too well with fans about the future of the series with Mazin now behind the steering wheel, especially afteran already divisive season 2.
Some Last of Us Fans Feel Like Season 3 Could Now Be “Cooked”
Over in a post onReddit,Last of Usfans have been discussing Druckmann’s departure from the HBO series, with one fan even going as far as stating that the head of Naughty Dog has jumped ship because “he knows the show is on a downward spiral” and how season 3 is “officially cooked.” Other comments believe that something went down behind the scenes, while others think that the show being left in the hands of Mazin doesn’t set up a positive outlook for season 3, as “Craig ruined it (season 2) by trying to make it his too much.” One scene in particular that left some fans scratching their heads, and something that Mazin gave the green light to, wasEllie’s joke about being a dad after Dina revealed that she was pregnant.
“Does this mean that Craig Mazin is going to be left unchecked with season 3? That can’t be good.”
Druckmann leaving the show is certainly a huge creative shake-up that will affectThe Last Of UsSeason 3, but how much will remain to be seen and what it will mean for its possible fourth and final season. However, on the flip side, Mazin did a pretty awesome job atChernobyl,so there’s no doubt about his talents, which will hopefully be brought to light forThe Last of Usseason 3, where the story will focus on Abby. It’s fairly easy to understand why some fans would have concerns about season 3 being led by Mazin, especially due to how Ellie’s character came across as less intelligent, capable, and emotionally immature in season 2, which was a far cry from her character inThe Last of Us Part 2.
There is currently no release date forThe Last of Usseason 3; it will likely be a while since filming hasn’t started yet. However,Mazin previously revealed that he thinks a fourth season ofThe Last of Usis called for to navigate its storyline properly, so whether that still holds up in the current state of things is yet to be seen.
